Last week E24 started their first STEAM expedition in year 9. We visited the advanced manufacturing research centre in Sheffield where we were able to get a first hand look at the types of careers, technology and equipment being used in engineering today.
The students also recapped concepts of forces by building self propelled lego cars and measuring the speed distance and time.
Watch this video for more information of what year 9 got up to!
It’s been fantastic meeting 7Pioneer this week. We’ve kicked off our immersion week by learning new protocols such as ‘Notice, Wonder, Question’ and ‘Gallery Walk’. However, I think the highlight of our week was our visit from our expert, who brought in lots of artefacts from the First World War.
It was wonderful to see how curious and interested the students were in finding out more about the items. The discussions they were having and the questions they asked were really impressive. Take a look for yourself!
I’m really looking forward to getting to know the students in this class more and starting this expedition with them. I’m sure they’ll all work hard, get smart and be kind and we’ll have a great time!
8 Pioneer have got off to a flying start in their Hums immersion week! I’ve been so impressed with how they have stepped up to being in year 8 and there’s a noticeable increase in maturity in the class that has developed since year 7. The new expedition will be revealed on Monday and I am super excited about this one – I think it’ll be the best yet! I’m already blown away by how hard the class is working and how focused and insightful they are in their discussions and work when trying to figure out the content and guiding question of this expedition. At times I felt like I was back at university – it’s easy to forget these students are only 12 due to their attitude towards learning.
Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to this week:
We began with a Quiz Quiz Trade protocol to learn new vocabulary which will be central to our anchor text and we found out some hints about where the text (and some of our expedition will be set) – a few miles south of Soledad.
We were lucky enough to have a visit from Geoff, our expert, who spoke to the students about what makes a good film and the various different roles that are involved in pre-production, production and post-production. It was then over to the students to create a film which followed their brief. Geoff then visited us again to watch the films and give feedback on what went well and how they can be improved. I’d like to mention Marcus and Ralph’s carefully crafted interview scene which was comedy gold and we all thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Maybe we have some future Oscar winners amongst us!
Next, we completed a gallery walk – this has definitely been the best one Pioneer have done so far. The focus and insight shown when thinking of questions, wonders, connections between the images, to their prior knowledge and society was another level of brilliant.
Building on from our Quiz Quiz Trade protocol we analysed the opening extract of our unknown anchor text to understand the setting. We really got to grips with the imagery of the text by following a ‘paint what you hear’ protocol – we will finish these next week but its wonderful to see how each student has began to interpret the words of the text.
I cannot praise Pioneer enough for their work this week and if they continue at the rate they are they will get so much out of this expedition – I’m super proud of them all!
E24/Y9 completed an 9 mile hike in the peak district.
Why? Because for the students to understand the planning, preparation to start GCSE and Duke of Edinburgh, where better place to start than meeting the demands of the great outdoors as a first crew expedition. All students were a credit to XP East whilst on the hike, watch this video to see more!
Today, 7Explorer started Immersion Week in preparation for their first expedition at XP East.
Students watched two mystery pieces which might be linked to the theme of the expedition.
Take a look at one of the clips:
From this, students had to make notes about what they noticed, wondered and any questions they would like to ask to further their thinking.
All 7Explorer were 100% focussed on their learning.
In addition to this, take a look at the levels of Craftsmanship and Quality. I’m sure you’ll agree that the standard of presentation is excellent!
Well done, Explorer!
9Pioneer and 9Explorer will be out on fieldwork on Thursday 12th September. The location and planned activities relate to our current STEAM expedition (the guiding question will be revealed later this week!)
The fieldwork arrangements are as follows:
Day 3 of E24’s first week back saw students visiting Sheffield Hallam University. This fieldwork was designed to further develop students’ knowledge and understanding of how to get to higher education, what opportunities are available and what university life is like.
Throughout the day students discovered the different ways to get to further education, whether this is by completing A Level courses, maybe BTECs or through an apprenticeship, some of the many different types of degrees which could be studied (who knew that Surf Science was a degree?) and what else makes up life at college or university – anyone for a game of Quidditch at the Harry Potter Society?
A tour of the university allowed students to see the different facilities that are available. The size of the lecture theatre made students gasp and the flight simulator, used by students studying aeronautical engineering, had them asking insightful questions.
At the end of our visit, feedback strongly showed that the majority of students would like to go to university and now feel more confident knowing how they can access this amazing opportunity.
Well done, E24! Now, don’t forget your hiking boots tomorrow!
While students up and down the country will be returning back to classes next week, XP East’s E25 returned on Tuesday to embark on a week long expedition, allowing them to re-immerse themselves in our school’s culture. Mr Brown kicked off the day with a community meeting centred on the incredible achievements of X21’s GCSE results. The underlying theme we noticed in the reasons for their success was crew, so we moved on to our guiding question for the week:
Five weeks is a long time off, we had a lot of catching up to do in morning check in. Spending the first day back is fundamental, it allows time for us to familiarise ourselves with the support network we have built last year. We reviewed what had worked so well in the first year, and what we were going to do this year moving forward.
In session 2, we got stuck in with a crew challenge, where we had to build a tower from straws and other materials that would stand unassisted for a whole minute. Sadly, no crew managed it (it is very tricky to execute!) but the conversations that were had afterwards were reflective and really allowed students to unpack their role in the activity.
We often use the phrase ‘no pilots, no passengers’ to ensure that every person in crew is guaranteed a role. Listening to my crew analyse points where they may have taken over too much or when they were passive shows how much they’ve grown since year 7. We took the reflections from the tower session into the inter-crew competitions.
We spent the afternoon in the sports hall completing mini challenges as crews. I noticed a real difference in how well my crew cooperated in this session from the tower session. Students were giving others pointers and tips. I saw students encouraging others, sharing water, offering help with degunge. This afternoon, while it was fun, was also really valuable in reestablishing what crew is all about.
Some admitted to feeling nervous or worried about what challenges might lie ahead in year 8, with them no longer being the youngest in the school. We’ll tackle them together this year as crew. What was pretty lovely about that first day though, is that during check out, every member of crew said they had a really great first day back. Can’t wait to hear their reflections on ‘how crew’ they are on Friday!
Following on from a great first day back, E24 (Year 9) have had another excellent day!
It has been wonderful today to see such high levels of engagement, focus, co-operation and graft!
The day started with a crew session where crews were given four different challenges to solve. These included: Radioactive Isotope, The Floor is Lava!, Precious Trophy and Scientific Breakthrough.
Here we are working as crew!
The next part of our day saw us building on our careers sessions from yesterday by finding out what potential employment opportunities might be suited to us. Using a programme called ‘Start’, we discovered which careers matched our qualities, skills and interests. We also researched what salaries different jobs would pay and the availability of specific jobs throughout the country.
Ali discovered that being an author could earn her anything from £9,800 a year to over £2million a year! She’s already started writing her bestseller!
Rhys is interested in becoming a paramedic. He researched the qualifications he needs to achieve this and found out that there are over 2,000 job opportunities in this field across Yorkshire. We’d all be in safe hands with Rhys!
Throughout this session, learning and conduct behaviours from ALL students were exemplary!
The final session of today saw students introduced to ‘Passage Presentation’ which is an important piece of work students complete during Year 9 to demonstrate that they are GCSE ready. More information to follow about this…
So, tomorrow, we are heading to Sheffield Hallam University. We can’t wait!
Today saw all students returning to school following the summer break. It was wonderful to see students smiling and sharing how they are looking forward to the new school year.
For E24 (Year 9), it has been a busy first day back, with students rejoining their crews and starting the day with a summer check-in and inter-crew puzzles and challenges to get everyone warmed up!
We then had an informative introduction to the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme by Mrs. Ap Harri and discussed how we would be taking part in the scheme as crews. It’s fair to say everyone is looking forward to how they can take part in voluntary and physical activities and how they can learn and develop new skills.
This was then followed by the introduction to our new guiding question:
‘What makes me ready to start GCSE?’
This guiding question will be explored over the coming weeks as students prepare for their passage presentation which holds the key to them being considered ‘GCSE ready’.
Today saw the introduction of Case Study 1: ‘Where can I be?’
Throughout the day, students investigated how professionals in a number of trades and industries started their journey and investigated potential career paths starting at GCSE. This was done by a three hour career carousel of experts, including the police, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Polypipe and GoGreen, who visited XPE.
And this was all in one day!
It’s a full on week for E24 so keep checking the website for what else has been going on.
