An appreciation, an apology and a stand

Friday is usually Community Meeting day – the time of the week when we are invited to make appreciations, apologies and stands.  So, here are mine:

An Appreciation

We spend a lot of time appreciating one another at XP East – and rightly so!  I’m missing our Friday community meetings where we’d get to share our appreciations for a student or member of staff with the rest of the school; those stand-out moments of the week that really made a difference and realising that, quite often, the smallest of actions can have the biggest impact.

A staff appreciation board has been set-up online for us to pass on our thanks to colleagues who are helping us through this strange time, for whatever reason.  I’ve really enjoyed reading the little notes that have been left for people and it once again proves how important it is to have the right crew around us during this strange time.

So, as I was adding my own appreciation for a couple of colleagues this morning I did begin to think about everyone else who deserves a massive appreciation.

And that’s you lot. My Crew Finch Parents who have sort of become accidental members of staff!  I really do mean it when I say that I couldn’t do my job without your full support. You’re ace, you are.

An Apology

Today I sent out a copy of the work tracker to parents and students.  This outlines all the work that has handed in (or not!) over the last 5 weeks.  My apology is that I didn’t get this information out to you sooner, as there is quite a lot of information on that spreadsheet to go through.  I’ll update on a weekly basis and I pledge to send it out every Friday, meaning that we can pick up on any issues sooner.  Just let me know if you want to arrange a google hangout with me to discuss progress.

A Stand 

At our last academic check-in I had several Crew members tell me that the reason they hadn’t completed their HUMS work was because they didn’t understand it.  I was more than happy to help them with this and set up a HUMS Support Hangout where we could go through the tasks together.  Despite accepting the invitation and assuring me that they would have a go at the three tasks I’d set beforehand, nobody turned up for the session.  So my stand is, if you say you want help and I offer that support to you, please have the courtesy to show up for the session.  More support sessions will be on offer and if you are invited, it’s because we’ve identified that you need some help to complete the work.  You’re not on holiday, remember 🙂

I’d like to appreciate those of you who are working hard to completing the work that’s been set.

An announcement (in case you missed it!)

We have made some changes to how we’re delivering DofE.  These are highlighted in this blog post and I’ll go through it with Crew during Tuesday’s hangout.

That’s all from me!

Have a lovely weekend, stay safe, and I’ll see you next week!

Mrs Parker.