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Introducing Crew Mandela

16th September 2018J Smith

Written and posted by Callie S.

Crew JSM is now Crew Mandela!

On Tuesday the 11th each Crew member was asked to present their speech (that each crew member had been working on) about what name we wanted and why.We all started doing research to find someone inspirational that represented what XP is about. There were many great suggestions such as Crew Johnson, Crew Ali, Crew Mandela and Crew Young each with just as good reasons. We then put it to a blind vote, writing which one we wanted on a slip of paper and then tallying up the scores. It was quite close between Mandela and Ali but in the end Mandela won the most votes! Unfortunately he died two years ago, but we all thought that he was an inspirational person and exactly what Xp is about and we are looking forward to further researching his life and legacy!

We are Young! Crew Young!

14th September 2018D Pearson

This week we have been heavily involved in choosing our Crew name. Crew prepared and delivered presentations to promote their suggestions – Magellan, Knox-Johnson, McGregor, Tenzing and Columbus – but we finally voted for Crew Young.

“I like to finish what I start doing. I like to see it through to the end, to the best of my ability.”

Our Crew took the name Young in honour of Cliff Young, a 61 year-old Australian potato farmer who:

entered the Westfield ultra-marathon in 1983, running from Sydney to Doncaster in Melbourne (Australia) in his gumboots, against all the world’s lycra-clad top athletes.
didn’t realise that accepted practice amongst competitors was to run for 18 hours per day and sleep for six hours a day – he just carried on running for over a week without stopping or sleeping!
wasn’t even aware that there was a cash prize for the winner of $10,000 Australian, which motivated the competitors to run even faster.
shared the prize money amongst the other runners when he came in first.

This astonishing hare-and-the-tortoise story is absolutely true….and inspires our Crew to come at things from another angle, to try things that nobody else has even considered before, to innovate and to motivate us to become true pioneers and explorers. Mr Pearson.

Introducing Crew Churchill!

By 14th September 2018

We are proud to introduce our new crew name as ‘Crew Churchill‘.

We chose Winston Churchill as our inspiration because of his following achievements:

he was an accomplished artist, creating more than 500 paintings
he received the Nobel Prize for Literature
he served in the British Parliament under six monarchs
he served as Prime Minister twice
he was the first to receive the abbreviation ‘OMG’ in a letter
he had a speech impediment
he led Britain to victory during World War II

We believe he embodies our character traits and culture here at XP East because he showed courage to lead his country during a war, respect because he valued the ideas and thoughts and others and craftsmanship and quality through his beautiful artwork.

‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give’

‘Crew Churchill’ was the name we were given during our recent outward bound expedition to Wales and so reminds us of the our amazing experiences there together as crew.

More than words

By 12th September 2018

This week in Crew we discussed how our ‘online’ selves may differ to our ‘real-life’ selves, and how sometimes we may say things online to people – or about people – which we would never dream of saying face-to-face.

The video above highlighted some of the awful comments people feel it’s OK to post behind the anonymity of the keyboard, without realising the impact those words can have.

Some of us even admitted to not always being mindful of our online comments, which led onto a discussion about some of the derogatory terms people think are OK to use in their everyday conversations, without fully understanding their meaning.

‘Language is our culture’ at XPE, and I’m hoping my Crew will now reflect on how powerful our language choices can be. We all pledged to make sure that we use our words to be kind, rather than cruel.

Our second week in term one

By 6th September 2018

Monday – check-ins revealed how we had spent the weekend recovering from the exertions of Outward Bound in Wales. Our certificate awarding ceremony was an opportunity for Crew members to articulate the reasons why someone deserved to receive this accolade, allowing them to reflect on their own learning journey in Aberdovey.

Tuesday – digital preparation of pledges that students seek to make in answer to our Guiding Question: what do I want to change about myself in Y8?

Wednesday – AR reader programme

Thursday – Completion of pledges, online research into possible Crew names (famous explorers / pioneers)

Friday – Our weekly Community Meeting is an opportunity for our students to appreciate others, and to make apologies and/or stands against issues that they feel strongly about.

Thank you to all parents and carers for the feedback received following phone conversations to check in on our Crew members at the start of their Y8.

D Pearson

Outward bound – Part 1!

By 6th September 2018

“Our once in a lifetime experience at Outward Bound in Wales was amazing… Even better spending it with Crew.”(Noah, Crew Finch)

Almost a week since we returned from our Outward Bound adventure, and I’m still finding it difficult to find the words to express just how amazing the experience was. We jogged and dipped; we camped out in the wild (well, as wild as Wales can be!); canoed across the estuary and helped each other beat the wall in true Ninja Warrior style!

So, rather than me telling you all about it, I’m going to hand over to Crew Finch who will, over the next couple of weeks, write up their reflections on the whole experience and share them with you on our Crew blog.

Meanwhile, here’s one of my favourite pictures from the week:

This was taken on our first day, after an early start and a five hour journey. We’d just arrived at the Outward Bound Centre and were instructed to get changed and off we jogged to the estuary. I was quite happy with that little jog but no, there was more to come…

We all circled up on the sand, linked arms and cautiously made our way into the water.

1,2,3 DUNK!

Under the water we went, arms still linked and, crucially, having to trust that nobody in the circle would let go and break the link. Thankfully, the circle wasn’t broken. We went in as a pretty strong Crew and we came out even stronger – albeit a little soggier!

I love this picture because despite being wet and cold, our smiley happy faces tell their own story 🙂

8DPE Outward Bound in Aberdovey!

By 3rd September 2018

if anyone still doesn’t have a “Crew” about why we started our Y8 in south Snowdonia, Wales, then please do check out the video and the photos below! Our C24 students were asked to consider “what do you want to change about yourself (in Y8) and how have you started?

Eleanor’s Aberdovey blog:

Tues 28th – said goodbye to parents, 2 1/2 hours, break, got there and went for a jog and dip

Weds 29th – gorge walk, slides, cabin

Thurs 30th – wake-up in log cabin, 6km hike, de-grunge, solo time

Fri 31st – pack bag, Challenge Wall, lunch and departure

Gorge-scrambling involved a wet-suit, neoprene socks, wet-jacket, buoyancy aid and helmet protection worn against knocks and bumps, rocks and stones – great fun!

Now that our Crew have presented and received their OB Course certificates, with a rationale as to why they deserve them, they will make pledges that answer the guiding question.

Watch this space!

Crew Presentation of Learning: ‘Who in the World am I?’

By A Parker18th July 2018

Today Crew Finch (along with the other XPE Crews) took part in their Presentation of Learning, as Expedition 360 draws to a close. There was a slight difference with the POLs this time as, rather than present to parents/cares, students had to present to their Crews. Some would say that was even more nerve wracking!

Our Crew presented their digital portfolios, which are basically an online record of their time in Y7, and showcases both their personal and academic development. Their digital portfolios will continue to grow until they leave school.

During the POL, each student had to reflect on Crew and talk about their favourite HUMANS and STEAM expedition (including reading out extracts of their work.) They also had to talk about how they’ve grown during Y7 both as a person and as a learner, before reading out their “Who am I?” poem or the letter they have wrote to their future selves.

At the end of their presentation, each student made a pledge for Y8, such as “I pledge to stay focussed during sessions,” “I pledge to try harder in STEAM” and , my favourite, “I pledge to try my hardest and not ‘huff and puff’ when I’m stuck!”

As you can imagine, it’s been an emotional afternoon!

Don’t worry, you haven’t missed out; the digital portfolios and the work Crew shared will be available soon online for you all to view.

Introducing Crew Finch

By A Parker17th July 2018

As explained in a previous blog post, it is traditional for XP Crews to be named after inspirational role models. We had narrowed our choices down to either Crew Peake (after astronaut Tim Peake) or Crew Atticus (after Atticus Finch).

After much debate, the Crew put it to me that they would quite like to be known as Crew Finch (inspired by characters from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’) as the whole of the Finch family embody our Character Traits and HOWLs – not just Atticus.

There are lots of examples when Atticus, Scout and Jem show great integrity, respect, compassion and courage. For example, Atticus defended a Black man despite knowing he was fighting a losing battle, and Scout and Jem having the courage to stand up against those who questioned their father’s choices.

As a Crew, I know that we’re not afraid to stand up for what believe in, either. We always consider other people’s points of view and respect their opinions. And – like the Finch family – we support and encourage one another every single day. I like to think that the quote above represents us as a Crew, and shows that we are open-minded and eager to learn about the world (much like Scout!)

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a very special book for our school; we enjoyed reading it together and it prompted many powerful discussions as part of our ‘Stand Up!’ Expedition. I am delighted that we can honour the Finch family – and the book’s author, Harper Lee – by taking on their name.