Its been brilliant to hear and see all crew members taking part in PE with Joe at 9 am every morning. This has helped crew keep fit and healthy every day, Monday- Friday throughout the lock down period. It doesn’t matter how much you move or how much you turn into Spider- Man, all participation is valuable to our students like the picture above, this includes the parents too.
This is Crew Anne Frank member Caitlin showing us her fancy dress Friday workout with Joe, who has contributed every single day since the START! This is brill!
Positive vibes and motivation to kick start the week,
In times without direct contact with school, it is sometimes hard to find the motivation to get things done! A special mention goes out to the outstanding work completion that is going on in Crew Mandela,
Raven, Corey and Chloe have been completing ALL pieces of work to the best of their ability whilst being at home. This was highlighted by the teacher completion records showing a fantastic hand in rate.
New targets have been set for the rest of the crew to catch up on any missing work, but have an example that it can be done from the three mentioned above!
It was great to touch base with crew Churchill on Friday afternoon. We held our weekly hangout and there were ten of us present. We were also joined by Mr. Smith.
Things seem to going well for our crew, with students completing the work which has been set and, if they are finding it tricky, getting in touch with teachers so they can lend a hand.
Here are some of our ‘What’s Working Well’s so far:
Adam has now developed a good routine so he knows when he is doing school work and when he can go in his garden to play basketball or play on his XBox.
Denzil has been working hard on his maths and science but also finding time to go outside to play football.
Kaiden is ‘cracking on’ with things, having established a good routine, including not staying up late!
After checking in, we also made pledges for the week to come. Take a look:
Kyle pledged to ask email his teacher about Citizenship as he isn’t sure about what he has to do.
Niven pledge to ‘chip away’ at his work now that his device is sorted.
Ruby pledged to make sure that she ‘hands in’ her work as she sometimes forgets to do this.
Finally, I would like to share a special appreciation for Theone.
…another week down, and here we are with another Crew Rowling break down!
After a long weekend of rest, recuperation and sunbathing in the garden Crew Rowling were feeling refreshed and ready to attack the work set from a different angle, meet any outstanding deadlines and crack on to meet this weeks!
Our Crew Classroom has been busy with members of the Crew logging in and checking the ‘Crew Deadlines’ spreadsheet, supporting students to manage their time, meet deadlines and most importantly gaining the huge sense of achievement when you can tick something off your ‘to do’ list and say ‘I’VE DONE IT!’
The satisfaction of going from red to green.
Each week I have been outlining the deadlines Crew have for each week. This has been shared with them in order to provide a visual aid of all the work outstanding alongside the due date and a colour code so you can say: Nope, i’m not onto that yet. OR Yes, smashed it!
In previous weeks much of our hangout has been spent with me going through each of the students individually and asking for a yes or no for each of the pieces of work outlined. As you can imagine, this has been gruelling for the likes of Faith who is superduper organised and even keeps her own second list to ensure she doesn’t let any go under her radar!
I’ve therefore been asking students to mark this off themselves once they complete the tasks and this will help them to manage their time and (hopefully) become more productive. I have to say this week they’ve amazed me!
Especially Charlotte! Having suffered some technical (and motivational) difficulties, we were gathering up a long list of work which was outstanding from previous weeks before even getting onto the current weeks deadlines in order to check them off. But she hasn’t let this stop her in her stride this week, piece after piece they’ve been submitted and crossed off the outstanding list and this week… WE EVEN SMASHED THE WEEKS DEADLINES IN!
This is a huge achievement if you consider that in previous weeks Charlotte had only completed 1 or 2 pieces of work! I have been so impressed with her perseverance and determination to catch up this week. We have also loved having you in Crew Hangouts more frequently!
Speaking of hanging out…
After our Crew Check In where both Cerrina and Logan expressed some difficulty with the work they were completing, i caught them using the Hangouts feature in order to gain the support of whizzes Harvey and Ben!
Hearing the discussion from the students as they worked through tricky calculations and Spanish Lingo was incredible! Even I learnt a thing or two!
Well done guys!!
About those ‘challenges’!
Well as you can see… Crew Rowling would stop at nothing in order to ensure they could meet the deadlines and would even work as a team to do so! No more problems here!
What we did find however, was that some Hangouts were more productive than others, through no fault of the students, but the use. We therefore got together and decided on the following protocol for gaining support from a friend via Google Hangout:
Be polite and respectful. You must stay engaged throughout the call! (and remember to thank them for giving up their time at the end)
Listen to the information given.
Make notes- You may wish to ask clarifying questions during this process.
Share your screen with the person you are speaking to, this will help them to support you further.
Share any work you are currently working on so they can see where it is specifically you need further help.
We’re hoping that these 5 simple steps will help ensure that supporting a peer via Google Hangout isn’t an onerous task and stops you from making progress too!
Again, we’re going to review this next week to see if there are any amendments. So far, so good!
The Rowling Quiz
In line with our Friday Challenge, this Friday I created a quiz for the Crew as a bit of fun and some downtime before the weekend commenced. The quiz consisted of 5 categories:
TV/ Film
School Subjects
Sport
Music
General Knowledge
A mixed bag of questions, the win was anyones for the taking! But… it was GIRL POWER! Charlotte, Lily and Faith shared the winning score of 16 leaving the boys wallowing in self pity! As a consequence of being our lowest scorer of the week, totting up a total of 6, Layton was nominated to host next weeks quiz! I am looking forward to being able to take part this week!
Upcoming stars in Crew Rowling
It all seems a very long time ago now, but this video from The Edge Foundation captures some unseen footage of Crew Rowling in action in Wales at the very start of the year! Crazy the changes that can be seen already!
The week ahead
Lots to look forward to! More deadlines to work towards, more Crew Hangouts (Tuesday and Friday), more structured ways to receive support from peers, but most importantly… more staying home!
It’s been lovely keeping in touch with Crew Turing during these strange times, getting to enjoy some normality while we’re all stuck inside. It’s been wonderful checking in with everyone and seeing the amazing work that’s been done both academically but also beyond their school work! The crew meetings have undoubtedly been the highlight of my days.
Can she kick it? [yes, she can]
Firstly, I’d like to thank Mollie for sending in this video of her amazing attempt at the toilet paper challenge that we’ve seen tonnes on social media. Mollie spoke about how she was finding it hard not training as she usually does, so I loved to see her switching up her normal training routine to try this out:
I also loved hearing about how Mollie and Abi had been working together on Google Hangouts on any bits of work that they had been stuck on. It goes to show that working smart doesn’t just happen at school. Equally, I want to give Molly a special mention as she has worked her socks off this week and is on top of the tasks that have been set. I’ve had some great feedback from her class teachers, keep it up!
Cake-off
Another couple of contributions I’ve enjoyed hearing about while we’ve been off school was the baking Callum has been doing with his family when he’s not been with us in school, the chocolate buns look absolutely delicious! As does Charlotte’s Victoria sponge cake:
Flippin’ wonderful:
Lexi has set up camp on her trampoline where she does a set amount of work out in the sun, followed by some trampolining. For those who know Lexi already, you’ll know she is super active and trains for hours every week to compete at the level she does with her gymnastics. It’s great to see her keeping up the hard work despite not being able to make it to the gym.
Distance gaming:
I was lucky enough to be in school last Monday with Torran and Callum, I felt so rejuvenated and energised getting to leave the house and see some people from my crew (at a 2m distance). We ended the day with some games, including mafia and ‘the mind’. It was a lot of fun listening to them all try to work out who had which role.
Special Mention for Jess Rollins & her adorable new friend:
I’d like to send a special appreciation out to Jess this week, who has been a shining example during these times. Not only has she been looking after her horses, donkeys and other animals, she has also completed all her work to an incredibly high standard. She’s had a special mention from Miss Hickson about how impressed she’s been with her humanities work, and Mr Nixon was also impressed at the work she’s done for maths on Hegarty.
Also, she’s shared my absolute favourite news from lockdown that one of the Donkeys on her farm has had a foal! Meet April, Crew Turing’s honorary newest member!
I look forward to checking in again this coming week with more news from my crew, and I really look forward to the moment we are finally united after all of this is over. Until then, keep washing those hands!
It’s always great to hear from my Crew – or the “Youngsters” – as I affectionately like to call them, and despite the privations and limitations of the social distancing measures it seems some are still managing to get out and about to enjoy the sunshine and keep their fitness levels up. This will be helpful as we look into amending our plans for DofE skills, physical and volunteering activities.
Special mention should go to Maclaren who has completed each and every piece of work from Spanish, maths, HUMS, STEM and art that have been set so far, often before the submission deadline, and this shows excellent HOWLs and time management skills. Well done Maclaren! You are really setting the bar in terms of self-motivation and commitment.
Lewis is also very much on top of his work load and it is clear that he prioritises study and then, quite rightly, rewards himself with some down time. I also hear that he is using resistance bands and going for long bike rides and runs to maintain his fitness. Here is a piece of art work that he was working on recently:
Also very pleasing is how Eleanor and Dominic have received praise from Mrs Sprakes for nearing the completion of Spanish+ tasks at “Developing” standard.
This morning I heard back from Keisha, who is working towards completing hums tasks set recently, whilst also receiving a certificate in Horse Care at “distinction” grade a week ago. Great work Keisha – I know how much compassion you show when volunteering to work with disabled horse riders in your spare time.
So following on from last week’s post showing what Lewis has been up to, it is Daniel’s turn this week.
Daniel has completed some real quality learning including a HUMS assessment where he achieved a fab score and showed great understanding of Africa, development and the DRC. He also completed an assignment answering the question ‘How far can Maycomb be called prejudiced?’. Mrs McCarthy said ‘What an absolute joy to read! Well done, great understanding and detailed yet clear explanation!’
In addition to completing his learning, Daniel has been enjoying walks with his family catching Pokemon!
He has also been enjoying quality time with his sister 🙂
It has been great the hear what Daniel has been up to, it’s been lovely keeping in touch and seeing the pics!
I spend every day looking for Silver Linings and encourage Crew to do the same. To be honest, they are harder to find on some days than others, but one of the best Silver Linings of the week came from Crew’s weekend check-in (slightly delayed until Thursday because of the Easter break.)
Now, weekend check-ins are usually dominated by tales of X-Boxing, You Tube watching and sleeping. And there’s nothing wrong with that! But there’s been a shift…
We’ve had the most beautiful weather lately and Crew have certainly been making the most of it. They checked-in with stories of Easter Egg hunts, epic bike rides, longs walks, board game playing, baking, DIY (!), running, interval training and even compost heap making! Yes, there was some Netflix binging in there too, but we’re only human, right?! (Plus, I’ve got some fab recommendations for my own binge-watch list!)
So the Silver Lining we took from this week’s hangout is that lockdown is making us all unplug from technology and spend more time with family. I’m super pleased that Crew are doing more physical activity, especially as I’m known to bang on and on about the positive impact physical activity and being outdoors has on our mental health (you see, Crew – I was right!)
Meanwhile, if you are struggling to find your own Silver Lining, have a read of this news story, showcasing 99-year old Captain Tom Moore’s fundraising efforts of the NHS (although I’m sure you’ve already seen it!) An inspiration to us all.
So, keeping with the outdoor theme, if we were at school we would be preparing for our practice DofE hike (this was scheduled for the end of April.). Obviously that won’t be going ahead, but we are looking at ways that students can carry on working towards their Bronze Award. Hopefully I’ll be able to share the new plan with you within the next couple of weeks, but there are lots of options in the proposal for the physical, skills and volunteering sections that can be done safely at home.
That’s all for this week. I look forward to checking in with Crew next week, and I’m really excited about Thursday’s quiz session!
Have a look at these amazing cards that Ella from Crew Mercury has been making this week!
Ella has been giving these cards to her mum so she can pass them on to her fellow front line workers in social care. A lovely way to show her appreciation for everything they are doing in these difficult times.
I’m sure these cards have been massively appreciated, such a wonderful thing to do Ella! I am very proud!
This week has seen Crew Rowling settle into a routine with independently monitoring outstanding and completed work, Crew Hangouts and generally our new ‘normal’!
Crew Hangouts
It has been great to see more and more of Crew joining the Hangout to Check In and let us know how they are getting on and what they have been up to.
Thomas was able to demonstrate the longest Lego building recorded yet (in Crew Rowling)
Shawn had been trying his hand at clay modelling in order to create some of his favourite Pokemon- Magikarp!
Ben continued to become the next superstar digital artist (I don’t know any famous ones!)
Rhys built a scalextric with the help of his dad in order to keep him entertained over our extended weekend!
Check out some of their handy work:
We also found out that all of us had enjoyed baking goodies with our families and with this in mind referred back to one of our favourite programmes in order to create…
THE GREAT ROWLING BAKE OFF!
Entries were sent in with an accompanying taste rating from a family member. The image was then entered into the competition where we individually scored the bakes for two things:
How does it look?
Difficulty
Each aspect was given a score out of 5. 1 being easy and not very mouth watering!
Members of the Crew did not know which entry belonged to which person which meant their could be no biased voting. Just to get you drooling, here are the entries:
And after all of the votes were taken in, counted and verified. The winner was
…
(not that she’s competitive AT ALL)
…
MISS JOHNSON!
However, I was closely followed by Faith whose Easter brownies (which we decided looked like a picture taken from Pinterest) absolutely smashed ratings out of the park and we were all very upset they couldn’t be delivered electronically through the screen!
I was extremely proud of all of the Crew for taking part in the challenge, we even had a late entry from Logan who thought he would encourage his family to get into the baking spirit too!
We’e now decided that each Friday afternoon Check In will bring with it a new challenge which is to be decided at the end of each week. Next week we’re in for a real treat as we play the latest and upgraded version of a pub quiz; The Virtual Rowling Quiz!
Work does go on and on!
School might not be open but Home Schooling is in full flow! Crew Rowling have been working extremely hard and I have been incredibly impressed when checking in that all students are prioritising work according to deadlines and managing their time to ensure they are still experiencing the full curriculum (even if they do their favourite subjects first!)
Special shoutout this week goes to Harvey who is yet to miss a deadline! Harvey has even asked for more work! His organisation has been admirable- he has even been able to provide some helpful hints and tips for other members of the Crew! Wicked work Harvey, keep it up!
I have also been astounded by Lydia and Logan’s efforts. Both of them have worked hard to ensure all the work has been completed as quickly as they can, even when faced with illness. You two are Champs and we’re glad you’re feeling better, Logan!
Challenges we’re facing:
Having spoken to Crew on a number of different occasions, aside from missing school itself, our family and friends, the one challenge we are facing which we know we can find a resolution to was:
Understanding some of the work!
We’ve discussed ways to support this as we feel that our parents are spending long periods of time trying to support us (which we really appreciate) but we know this isn’t sustainable- as most of them have their own work to do too! What we’ve decided is that we are going to use each other more! We have experts in each of the subjects within our Crew and we know that they will always be there to support us in getting up the mountain together!
We have therefore decided:
Crew Hangouts will be the place where students can express work they are struggling with and get instant support there and then (if it doesn’t require a long explanation).
Miss Johnson can set up hangouts for students to meet to support each other.
We can use the Hangout Chat function in order to ask for help whilst we are working on something and get an instant answer!
The students are going to trial this for the week and we’ll check in again next week to let you know how we are getting on!
Final message from us this week, we know its becoming a long hard slog, but…
