Students across the school were given their HOWLs grades for all subjects and Crew. For Crew Frank this was an exciting time, not only to see what HOWL grades they received but how well overall has the crew done. Analysts Crew Frank started off by noticing and wondering about their own grades as they filtered their scores into their very own spreadsheet. The spreadsheet allows them to access their HOWLs when and where ever they’d like whilst also giving the opportunity to look at other Crew member’s grades.
The time is given to filter the data into the spreadsheets allowed each student in Crew Frank to notice, wonder, and question their own data. Some of the Crew were really pleased, but some slightly disappointed. However, this showed real care upon their learning and character development. The level of focus was unbelievable and the depth of discussion after analysing their own HOWLs was pleasing to hear.
Following from this, Crew Frank will be looking at what questions and wonders they have and turning this into a pledge. Finding a solution to help improve their HOWLs. How will this look, sound, and feel like…
The first two weeks back after the October break have been great for crew Mercury!
We have had plenty of praises logged for all members of crew.
Well done to Daniel for achieving 11 praises since we returned, what a fantastic achievement! He was closely followed by Lynden and Kaylen who have both achieved 7 praises!
This week our first set of HOWLs data was released and as a crew we will be analysing the data during Thoughtful Thursday next week….keep your eyes peeled for our next blog!
A special mention goes out to Poppy who on the last day of term brought in individually hand packed Halloween sweets for crew. What a lovely way to end the term! Crew thoroughly enjoyed the special treat!
Year Eight were honoured at lunchtime today to receive some top flight tuition in the beautiful game from Mr Portman. Despite one spectator’s concerns for Mr Portman’s shoes, he proceeded to give a dazzling display.
The pitch was filled with gasps of amazement from the other players as he tore up the tarmac and made several shots on goal. Luckily, Year Eight had a competent keeper who was able to thwart most attempts. The match was hotly contested with great tackles, clearances and headers from pupils from all Crews. Mr Portman was ably assisted at one point by Mr Kellet and Miss Ridoult, but alas, their efforts were in vain and Year Eight were triumphant.
Well done everyone for great sportsmanship and determination. What a lovely way to spend a lunch break!
Crew Turing have had a really eventful end of term 1. We’ve been spending time as part of the Wise Wednesday sessions looking into the effects of social media on our lives and mental wellbeing.
The sessions have been centred around deconstructing how much time we spend on social media, each crew member looked at their average screen time using their smartphones. We were all gobsmacked that so many people had clocked over 10 hours on one of the days at the weekend!
We also watched The Social Dilemma, the documentary that explores the damage social media has caused to society, focusing on its exploitation of its users for financial gain through data mining. It explains how its design is meant to nurture an addiction, its use in politics, its effect on mental health (including the mental health of adolescents and rising teen suicide rates), and its role in spreading conspiracy theories such as the flat-earthers.
At the end of last term we culminated the work done in Wednesday’s crew sessions by preparing for a debate, arguing for and against the motion:
‘social media has caused more harm than good’,
All crew members prepared speeches as well as rebuttals. I was especially impressed with how maturely my crew took on board the debate, as we’d spoke in the Wednesday afternoon sessions on the difference between a formal and structured debate, and an argument. Both sides were actively listening to the other, and responding to the opposing team’s arguments. I’m hoping that this work will help them prepare for their PoL towards Christmas.
Another activity I have really enjoyed has been following the US presidential election. On Tuesday last week, we examined the presidential system of the US and how the electoral college works. We discussed the merits and pitfalls of this electoral system, as well as learned about the two presidential candidates. Over the following days last week, we were checking the BBC news website to see how the swing states were looking, it was really exciting watching the votes roll in.
We also went on to watch the Newsnight broadcast from the night of the election, and noted down tonnes of key information about both of the campaigns, and the candidate’s policies. Congratulations to Dylan, Mollie and Ralph who managed to call bingo on their note catcher sheets!
I’d like to give a special mention to Jess, who was able to fill in her entire sheet with key information from the broadcast, I was totally blown away. All crew members except one person predicted Biden’s win on Wednesday afternoon, after we did the maths on how many votes Trump would need.
Finally, my crew came back to school knowing that their teachers had been asked to input the data for their habits of work and learning. Last week during academic crew, I created a doc with all of their names and subjects on, so they could predict their HOWLs before the data was released to them. We had really interesting discussions about homework records, effort in class, and it was great to see people showed real integrity if they felt this term hadn’t been their best. I’ve minimised the images below, but blue is excellent, green in good, and yellow is secure.
I was slightly disappointed to see that some students felt that they dipped in certain classes, and I’m expecting upcoming pledges to relate to those lower than average predicted HOWLs. We’re going to review these predictions this coming week once the actual grades are released!
Crew Obama has decided to support the Doncaster branch of the RSPCA this term. The pupils would like to make a food bank style collection to help keep the animals comfortable over Christmas. In preparation for this, we needed to think about the kind of products which would be most useful. In addition to food and treats, pupils made suggestions such as grooming products, medication, bedding and toys.
Ms Pulham arranged for an expert from the RSCPA to join us via Google Hangout on Friday afternoon. This is greatly appreciated, so that you so much! Crew Obama prepared several questions for the expert with the aim of finding out more about the centre’s work, and how best to support them. It was great to see the children ask their questions confidently, and that a crew member was able to join in the discussion from home thanks to the wonders of modern technology!
Thank you to Josh for taking a retro Polaroid picture of Crew Obama. It looks like we have time travelled back to the 80s!
Several centuries ago the Romans observed the connection between mental and physical health – “mens sana in corpore sano” translates from Latin as “a healthy mind in a healthy body” – and more recent research has shown that physical exercise can not only help arrest the decline in cognitive skills amongst older generations, but also boost memory, neurological networking, concentration and mood in younger learners.
Last Friday Crew Young and their E24/Year 10 group were given a choice of physical activities in Crew time, though limited by the need to maintain social distancing wherever possible, they were intended to promote team work and competition with their peers. Most opted for dodge-ball, whilst Lewis and Tom refined their basketball skills. Very impressive!!!!!
Towards the end of last term, Crew Finch undertook what has now become the annual task of setting their Pledges for the academic year.
Before doing so, we spent some time reflecting on the pledges from the previous year and, even though the last school year was interrupted, many of those pledges were fulfilled! For example, quite a few Crew members wanted to improve their reading and comprehension skills – Big Tick to several of those who pledged to do so, as shown with our recent AR Star Reader test results (as mentioned in this previous blog.)
I wasn’t surprised to see that many of this year’s Crew Pledges were focussed around their Choice GCSE/BTEC subjects. Although Choice is supported by a teacher or a mentor, there is a strong expectation that students become leaders of their own learning and commit to studying in their own time. Quite a few of these pledges recognise this and acknowledge that it’s going to be hard work.
Crew have not only pledged to work hard in their Choice subjects, they have also asked Crew to support them by holding them accountable and challenging them if they’re not working as hard as they should be (just a little ‘nudge’ now and then!)
This just goes to show how much Crew support is valued and needed, probably now more than ever.
We will have regular pledge check-ins throughout the year.
Our year 9 students were lucky enough to get out on fieldwork on the final week of term to complete work relating to their ‘Welcome to the machine’ expedition. Over the next seven weeks of the winter term, they will be working on their answer to the guiding question:
‘Do the benefits of industrialisation outweigh the costs?’
For their first STEAM case studies, students have been looking at conservation data, learning about how data can be collected and displayed using multiple representations. They have also been learning about specialisation and ecosystem management.
They visited The Hatfield Moors, our local nature reserve, to examine the extent of the fire damage from earlier this year. Students have been learning about the protected species that can be found at the site, particularly the adder, and how Natural England and the fire service prioritised safeguarding these species during the clear up operation.
While at the site, students conducted a series of sampling techniques, as well as collecting data on the wildlife. Sadly, due to slight delays in being able to visit the site, we weren’t able to spot any adders as they have likely gone into hibernation for the winter, however, students were still able to find other species key to maintaining and supporting the ecosystem at the wetland.
Students also conducted a number of tests on the site, in accordance with their two daily learning targets for the day:
1. I can estimate the population density of a species using random sampling techniques.
Students engaged in data collection of various parts of the site, using quadrats to provide increasingly accurate estimations of species numbers in the areas we sampled. We created a set of axes, used a random number generator to find coordinates to sample, and collected the data from those coordinates.
After collecting data in teams of three, we used all the data collected to calculate the predicted species number, based on scaling up the measurements to accommodate the size of the field. In debrief, due to a large range in answers, we went on to calculate the mean for those estimations, to create a more accurate estimation. We also discussed why using the random number generator was fundamental in keeping our research free from bias.
2. I can investigate the effects of abiotic factors using systematic sampling techniques.
Students then went on to conduct a series of pH tests on the wetlands, again using their quadrats placed along a transect, to link changes in species to abiotic factors of the wetlands. In debrief, we examined the data, looking for patterns relating to the abundance of the plant species and the abiotic factor recorded.
I’d also like to thank our very own Marshall Jones, for taking his time on the day and spare time to create this amazing vlog documenting the day:
I feel incredibly fortunate that we were able to make it out to the site given the current circumstances, and I really look forward to hear how the work the students have done on this series of case studies will inform their guiding question answers over the coming weeks.
Students in E25 have been set a few tasks for the break.
Watch a BBC Documentary from David Attenborough. There are questions to answer. (Around 1 hour)
Complete three quizzes in Kerboodle.(Around 30 mins)
Make sure that they are up to date and have responded to feedback in their Mastery eBooklet. (For most students this should be responding to feedback, around 15 mins)
In addition, as an optional task, if students are at a loose end, there are some flashcards in Quizlet and Tassomai that students can use to quiz themselves.
All details are on Google Classroom. If your son or daughter needs any help, please ask them to contact me through Google Classroom.
disappointed. However, this showed real care upon their learning and character development. The level of focus was unbelievable and the depth of discussion after analysing their own HOWLs was pleasing to hear.
