Our C25 / Year 9 GCSE Spanish students have been working hard to promote a charity fundraising initiative in aid of Save The Children, as part of our current work on Fair Trade, social equity and child poverty in Latin America. This involved students producing and displaying posters in both schools, and visiting Crew rooms to invite their peers to guess the number of Fair Trade chocolates in a jar. At £1.00 a go, the winner with the closest guess to the actual number of chocolates would get to keep them and the jar.
This morning we can reveal that Mrs Cunningham and Crew Rosa won the chocolates in XP School, and Mrs Newrick correctly guessed that there were 99 chocolates in XP East’s jar. As a result of our students’ activism, they helped towards fulfilling the volunteering element of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, but more importantly (and with the odd extra donation) they raised a total of £122.55 for Save The Children.
A huge appreciation goes to C25 students and Crew Leaders for helping to raise a three figure sum for charity.
Recent work covered by E26 Explorer Spanish students is centred on describing clothes using colours and other adjectives. Having played picture bingo to consolidate the correct position and spelling of colours, our students then completed a clothing wardrobe graphic to show learning, before applying it to celebrities to describe what they usually and sometimes wear. It was really pleasing to see students getting smart by using several sources of reference material to work independently. Special appreciation goes to Imogen for being our impromptu bingo caller!
Crew Turing have loved being outside during Monday’s crew sessions to do check in, catching 45 minutes of sun before we go back to session. Now that lockdown restrictions are lifting slightly the check-ins are far more interesting. Everyone seems cheerier now they’re able to see friends and family, and carry on with the sports they’re involved in.
We’ve also managed to get booked into the sports hall during crew a couple of weeks back, we enjoyed a rather competitive game of dodgeball. We mixed crew to random teams, and even Miss Narey and I played.
As mentioned in my previous post, as a crew we’ve been self-assessing HoWLs leading up to the actual data drop, which finally got released last week. We spent the crew session adding our updated HoWLs to our crew narrative, gains were made across the board. We then compared the new data with our previous crew targets that were made in November 2020. Those targets were:
– Improve extended study record as a crew, aiming for 95%+: we greened this target as this has massively improved thanks to daily reminders in crew and students working together to support each other on any work they’re unsure about
– Improve HoWLs in art and HUMAN, aiming for at least secure in all HoWLs grades: this is partially completed, as HoWLs in these subjects have gone up across the board, however we’ve not 100% met the ‘secure’ section of the rubric or above in these subjects. I’ve got to appreciate Dylan, Callum, Torran, Mollie and Sami for smashing these targets, some of whom even received HoWLs in the excellence category!
In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at where we can be making improvements using Crew Turing’s HoWL improvement project. Every student in my crew has identified a subject in which their HoWLs could do with some work. I then asked students to write a rationale explaining why they’d chosen that particular subject and a SMART target that another member of our crew could peer-asses them on.
I then gave each student someone to peer assess on a mini HoWL tracker. Every student gave at least a secure on the peer assessment, and knowing that someone was tracking engagement, meant that members of my crew really pushed themselves in those sessions to contribute and ask clarifying questions. I’m going to try this again in a few weeks to get snapshots of what is going on in sessions.
To celebrate our successes, Dylan treated us to homemade sponge cake with custard and Torran bought in a chocolate birthday cake. Not only this, Miss Narey who has been with us over the past few months prepared a quiz for us to enjoy! Big appreciations to those who made Friday’s crew session so fun, and congratulations to Mollie, Charlotte, Dylan, Callum, Sami and Jess for winning the quiz.
Students have access to a digital textbook through Kerboodle. There are some hard copies of textbooks which we can loan out if students prefer. They can get those from me.
Recently our Year 10 / C24 GCSE Spanish group has been preparing for the forthcoming mock exams in speaking and writing. As our students were routinely exposed to the format and content of the role play and photo card tasks in sessions throughout year 9, they are already accustomed to their rubrics and are aware of the need to respond spontaneously to unexpected and unpredictable elements. This year we have additionally practised the general conversation task, that requires students to develop and extend their answers to a series of questions based on a general theme.
In terms of the Foundation Tier writing exam, our students are required to describe a photo in Spanish, write a 40 word paragraph using 4 bullet point prompts, translate 5 short sentences into Spanish and respond in writing to one of two 90 word tasks, again to the four bullet points that are provided. Each week since September, one of these tasks has been the focus of a full session, so that students have become familiar with what is required, and practised with a rubric according to exam criteria.
Our students will undoubtedly find these mock exams challenging, as opportunities for meaningful spoken interaction with others have been limited by the confines of distance learning, whilst retention and spontaneous recall of key grammar and vocabulary used in written Spanish has not been practised with anything like the regularity of previous years. However, we are confident that our students will continue the revision and preparation started in school over the last three weeks at home, and be well prepared for the two Spanish exams.
It would be fantastic if parents and carers could support during this time, even if it’s something as simple as listening to your son / daughter saying their General Conversation (either on School or Holidays.) As we said in class, students are completely in control of this part of the speaking exam. Please encourage them to spend time on this, along with drilling of verbs in the three main tenses (preterite, present and near future). Again, as we said in class, revision should be “little and often”, to help embed this current learning into long term memory.
Finally, thank you for your support during this period; please do not hesitate to contact me at school should you wish to discuss any of the above further.
Each crew at XP has a chosen charity that they raise money for. This charity resonates with the crew, ensuring all of the mindful work that is done is going towards something we hold near to our hearts. Crew Anoa’i chose Make-A-Wish UK.
Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 after a young boy, battling Leukaemia, wished to be a police officer for the day. The charity was inspired after Christopher Greicius’ family and friends came together to grant his wish ‘to be a police officer’. This kindness created a movement that would transform the lives of millions of sick children across the globe.
41 years later, Make-A-Wish has been granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses in nearly 50 countries, across 5 continents of the world. More than 500,000 wishes have been granted since that day.
Every year, Make-A-Wish brings people together in celebrating World Wish Day on April 29th, the anniversary of the wish that inspired the founding of the charity.
This year, the charity’s campaign ‘Don’t Wait for Hope. Create it.’ stems from the fact that wish families have been some of the hardest hit by the global pandemic. Feelings of detachment and trepidation have become the new normal for everyone, but they are often felt deepest by the most vulnerable, including children with critical illnesses.
Now more than ever, wishes can bring hope, joy and a sense of normality back into the lives of wish kids and their families. We can help make life-changing wishes come true, and that’s what Crew Anoa’i did this week.
On Thursday 29th April, World Wish Day, Crew Anoa’i held a raffle to raise money for Make-A-Wish UK. We gathered several prizes, ranging from confectionery to bath bombs sets, ensuring there were lots to be won. We then collected donations and drew the winning tickets. Let’s take a look at some of our lucky winners.
In total, we raised a whopping £90 in just two days!!
Crew Anoa’i would like to appreciate everyone who donated money towards our raffle, we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you everyone!!
All students in Year 9 have been given some revision tasks for an assessment for their expedition ‘You give me fever’.
This assessment will take place on Monday 10th May for Pioneer and Tuesday 11th May for Explorer.
Students have been asked to join Seneca to revisit their learning, and have been given access to textbooks as well as their regular quizzing in Tassomai.
We are living in uncertain times, what students don’t expect is having the uncertainty of how they are getting home from school at the end of the day.
Unfortunately, like many other schools in the area, XP has been hit by bike theft.
At XP we feel strongly about supporting our community, showing kindness, compassion and respect. We were devastated to hear that a member of a Crew had had their bike stolen, after hearing so much about the jaunts they had been on during lockdown with their siblings on it- plus the fact it was relatively new! Therefore, we want to put right the actions of others!
Crew members wanted to help and therefore a fundraising page was set up. This had an amazing response in such a short space of time. The target was smashed in no time!! So watch this space…
Keeping with the notion of showing compassion, we were privileged to be asked if Crew Rowling could model how we ran our Crew sessions to Mrs Watson’s Crew, Crew Rashford. This was a really positive experience and there were some amazing notices, wonders and questions about what was shared. We even had the opportunity to observe Crew Rashford in one of their sessions and give guidance on writing their Crew norms. Crew Rowling were excellent role models and gave praise and useful feedback to Crew Rashford which will give them the tools to keep them going from strength to strength. This in turn led us to reflect on how far we had come as a Crew and how much we wanted to continue to set a good example for others.
Today Crew Anoa’i were on litter picking duty. This involved the whole crew taking part in our weekly clean up session. During crew time, we collected the equipment and headed out to the field at the back of the school. There we started our hunt to collect all of the litter we could find and dispose of it appropriately. Everyone got stuck in, taking it in turns to use the pickers. We found lots of different things along the way!
Surprisingly, Crew Anoa’i found this very entertaining. It was great to see some smiles this morning whilst we helped keep our environment clean and safe. As we made our way around the field, we found more and more rubbish. It was alarming to see how much rubbish that had gathered at the bottom of our school field. Good job Crew Anoa’i were here to clear things up!
It was also really great to see everyone working as a team. James and Jacob led the way by thinking outside of the box to creatively work together to gather some rubbish on the outer border of our school premises. Great work lads!
Crew Anoa’i would like to appreciate April Crawshaw in particular for getting her hands dirty and demonstrating great cleaning up skills. Well done April, keep it up!
‘A spine-chilling story about a boy who finds himself drawn to an empty house. He enters the house to find twelve ghostly figures sitting around a large table. A thirteenth chair is pulled out for him. He takes his place at the table and the story begins.’
Crew Anoa’i have been reading Thirteen Chairs by Dave Shelton as part of our weekly book club. Each week, on Tranquil Tuesday, we read a new chapter of the book. Taking it in turns to read aloud, we follow the story of a boy called Jack. After reading a chapter, we answer a set of questions that help us understand and retain what has happened before we move onto the next chapter. Each chapter is one of the thirteen tales told by the ghostly figures. So far, we have read up to chapter 3. Each week we learn something new about the characters in the story – Jack doesn’t know anyone at the table, the ghostly figures have names and the tales that are told are eerily cryptic.A few students from Crew Anoa’i wanted to share their thoughts about our book club. Let’s see what they’ve got to say.
Lucie-Mae Cordell
I am finding the book club interesting, as it is a fun way to learn about reading. It also gives us a chance to find a new story to read. Thirteen Chairs has given me a break from my usual type of book. Having the book club helps me to focus on one story at a time.
Zachary Hague
I am really enjoying the book club in crew, as the book Miss Mitchell has chosen is interesting and it’s from a genre that I wouldn’t normally read. It’s fun to read something new and exciting. I’m looking forward to reading the next chapter!
Faith Farmery
I’m really entertained by this book club we have during crew, because Miss Mitchell has chosen a book for all of us to read together instead of reading individually. This gives us a chance to communicate over the same book and wonder together instead of alone in our own world. Everyone is there with you in this world. This type of book isn’t one that I would normally pick up off of the shelf, it is a good change and something out of my comfort zone.
