Crew Berger: Things we’ve learned in lockdown 2.0

By Mr A Jackson11th January 2021

So, a new year arrived filled with hope and possibility – and then we got the news that we were learning from home again.  Crew were determined to write to Gavin Williamson this term to ask the government to make a decision about GCSEs, and then it was announced that they wouldn’t go ahead as planned.  It’s felt a bit like we’re walking on shifting sands as we make our way towards the end point of our XP journey, but it’s been really inspiring to see how crew Berger have got stuck in, and are working hard to make the best of the situation.

As well as learning loads of things in our online sessions, and getting to grips with working from home again – we’ve found out some interesting things about crew in our morning hangouts…

One member of crew can’t live without their hot water tap – so they can survive on hot drinks and ramen…

Someone needs help waking up in the morning, but luckily they have a personal alarm call each morning from a very kind crew member…

Two of us have broken our video game controllers – probably due to excessive overuse after being stuck inside all day…

Lots of us feel like we’ve exhausted the possibilities that Netflix has to offer…

Four of us are still catching Pokemon…

And one of us really likes their towel!

 

I wonder what next week will bring.

 

Crew Berger’s Beautiful Revision

By Mr A Jackson23rd November 2020

       

 

Crew Berger have been focussing again on revision tasks.  A couple of weeks ago we started a programme of revision inspired by Mrs Sprakes work last year with crew Bronte.

Each member of our crew selected an area of study that they were comfortable with and pledged to create some revision materials based on that.  We gave ourselves two weeks to get it started and this week we presented our work.

Abi worked on the Vikings and shared several pages of notes that she’d made on Viking society.  Joe found and shared a sample Maths question and Henry produced some notes on Cell Biology, looking at cell structure and moving into DNA.

Rex and Laura also worked on Biology – producing flashcards on Hormones and Menstruation.  Laura went down the more traditional route of writing hers out on cards and then taking photos so she could share them.  Rex used an app to create his flashcards which allows you to see how long you’ve spent studying each one.

     

Laura also produced some character notes for one of our English texts – An Inspector Calls, and Khushi worked on flashcards for characters in Macbeth.  We enjoyed testing each other on these – can you remember who Fleance is!?

Jac decided to focus on Physics and, although he is doing the higher tier papers, he produced foundation study material to help others in crew.  His worked examples of answers on volume, density, electricity and other topics are beautifully presented and explained.

We’ve pledged to continue to produce this revision material and to make it public over the coming months leading up to the exams in summer next year.  We’re also pledging to put together a website so that our work can be made available to other crews and other students hoping to do well in their GCSEs.

 

Crew Berger: Coming Back Stronger…

By Mr A Jackson13th September 2020

Crew Berger have had a busy few weeks since returning to school at the end of August.  Getting used to new protocols in school, meeting new staff and realising the reality of such an important year in our educational journey.

Meeting experts from our pioneering C21 year group made us realise that we needed to start working immediately on our studies for next year’s GCSE exams.  Emily, Alex, Chloe and Gabby helped us to focus on what we should be spending our time on in the coming months and I was really proud of crew Berger when they identified that starting revision was something that we needed to do immediately.

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been working on spending at least 10 minutes every night on revision tasks and crew have been sharing their success each morning.  We’ve also been holding each other to account and reminding each other to complete these small challenges so that we can build strong habits of self study and revision.  The best thing has been seeing members of crew explaining their learning and sharing revision techniques when we check in the next day.

Here you can see Abi and Callie’s personal notebooks and Isaac’s flashcards.  Current topics of revision have included the rise of the Nazi party, ratios, electricity, spanish vocab and the great heathen army!

Crew Berger – Beautiful Work

By Mr A Jackson28th April 2020

Crew Berger have produced some lovely work over the last few weeks.  Checking the work tracker shows that Laura, Henry and Abi have been making progress and checking in regularly with most of their subjects.  Jac has been doing really well, working hard in all his subjects and he also produced this beautiful piece of artwork which was selected for the school’s online Art gallery this week!

Rex has been the stand out member of our academic crew over the last month.  He has been consistently completing tasks set across all his subjects and our tracker shows that he’s handed in every single piece of work that’s been set!  That’s a fantastic effort from one of our hardest working students!

Speaking of hard work – Isaac has been learning new skills in lockdown and seems to be heading for a career as a lumberjack…

Crew Berger don’t really go in for motivational quotes, or ‘Cat Posters’ as Rex and Jac call them, but we do occasionally listen to a motivational song.  So don’t forget to listen to Egg Sandwich at least once a week crew, to keep your spirits up and to remind you that being a bit daft sometimes is important too.

Crew Berger – socially isolated

By Mr A Jackson3rd April 2020

Well, we got through our first week of social isolation and managed to check in through emails.

It’s been a relief to hear from everyone in crew and I’m pleased that we’re all healthy and coping in these unusual times.

Next week we’re going to check in face to face using a Google hangout.  I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.

 

In the meantime, it’s school work, indoor exercise, social media and video games for everyone!

Tassomai in Crew Berger

By Mr A Jackson5th June 2019

Josh and Isaac were crew Berger’s top workers on Tassomai at the end of last term.  Both boys were regularly getting their daily goals and making great progress as a result. We’re really proud of their progress.

In crew overall, Josh has worked the hardest on Tassomai answering over 8000 questions correctly and logging more than 120 active days on the app.  Well done Josh!

We’ve had a bit of a lull over the holidays but this is also a reminder that crew should all be doing 15 minutes a day and getting their daily goals.

Injections for all Year 9 boys and girls Tues 4th June 2019

By Mrs N Mawby1st June 2019

This is a reminder to all parents / carers of students in Year 9, students are due to have injections for all Year 9 girls and boys against Polio, Tetanus and Diphtheria, Meningitis ACWY on Tuesday 4th June 2019.  The consent forms were sent home with students one month ago, Crew leaders will be in contact with those parents whom the school nurse has not received their consent forms.

Barcelona Day 3

By Sophie Elliott23rd May 2019

The students began the final day by sitting in the sunny courtyard of our hostel and spending time on their journals. Once we had finished our sketches of the famous landmarks or beautiful buildings in Barcelona we headed out to catch a glimpse of the Olympic Park Stadium.

With rumbling stomachs we then headed into the bustling streets to find a traditional Spanish restaurant so the students could have the opportunity to taste the delights that Spain has to offer.

Following this relaxed lunch break we returned to the hostel to gather belongings before making our second visit to the beach. The students voiced how desperately they wanted to revisit the famous food market and indulge once again in the delicious snacks that were on offer. A slight detour on our walk to the beach allowed for this. Once at the beach the students enjoyed having time to be together, playing football or just simply relaxing in the sun.

As the sun began to fade it was time to return to the hostel to get packed and ready to travel home tomorrow.

It’s been a busy three days of exploring Barcelona and brilliant opportunity to spend quality time together, explore a new city, to learn about another culture and most of all to have an opportunity to practice speaking Spanish.

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