The power of a compliment

By A Parker16th October 2018

The power of Crew was demonstrated again this week when we all circled up to help one of our Crew with a specific task – to make her feel better about herself.

A member of our Crew is really struggling to see her worth at the moment and finds it difficult to find anything good to say about herself, nor does she believe she is worthy of having nice things said to her. In her own words, she looks in the mirror everyday and doesn’t like what she sees… (this was quite hard for me to hear and I sent a silent apology to my 13-year old self who definitely had the same thoughts all those years ago!)

So, our task was simple: for everyone of us to pay her a compliment.  One that didn’t focus on her physical appearance and to make her realise that she truly is beautiful on the inside, where it matters the most.

This was such an easy thing to do; not one member of Crew had to think too hard about what they wanted to say because we see the positives in this person every single day.  We complimented her intelligence, her kindness and the “fire in her belly” which makes her strong and brave!

Was she comfortable with the compliments? No.  Did she leave Crew with a smile on her face? Yes.

We’ve got a way to go, but hopefully she’ll smile about herself more often.

We all pledged to try and accept compliments with a simple “thank you” from now on, and to believe in them, rather than mistrusting the intentions of the person saying it!

Academic Check-in

By A Parker16th October 2018

Last week, we had our first Academic Crew session, where all students were invited to present the work they’re most proud of to the rest of the Crew.  This was a lovely way for us to celebrate our Crew’s hard work, but to also offer some peer critique on the work shown.  This really helped Aden who was able to edit his HUMS work and make it even better!

Our Academic Crew Check-ins will happen every other week, with a different focus every session.  As a Crew Leader, it keeps me up to date with how my Crew are doing in lessons (which is really useful for SLCs), we can review their work together and set SMART targets for any improvements required.  These sessions are also a really good support network for those of us who may be struggling a bit in session.

We are having a Maths Masterclass next time – I don’t know about the rest of Crew, but I’ll certainly benefit from that 🙂

Dodgeball Challenge!

By K Poncia14th October 2018

Last week, Churchill Crew challenged Parkinson Crew to a dodgeball competition!

Both crews lined up on the tennis courts and, when the whistle blew, sprang into action, each determined to be triumphant.

Game one was won by Churchill.  Yippee!

Game two started but had to be suspended due to timings and so a rematch will be arranged so Crew Parkinson can hopefully equalise the score.

Watch this space…

What has Crew Parkinson been doing this week?

By H Hickson12th October 2018

Yet another fantastic week in Crew for us!

Monday: We had our check ins from the weekend –  it’s lovely to hear what an exciting and relaxing time Crew had at the weekend – I look forward to this weekend’s update on Monday.

Tuesday: This session was dedicated to accelerated reader. It’s great to see some students so engrossed in reading, meaning they have already finished their books, taken the quizzes and moved onto a new book.

Wednesday: We discussed homework and organisation. It’s vital we all take responsibility for remembering to do and complete homework – this is a perfect opportunity to show that you work hard and get smart.

Thursday: Rosie’s birthday! (We all enjoyed cupcakes- thank you!) We also challenged Crew Churchill from Year 8 to a game of dodgeball – both crews showed respect, compassion and worked well together – we need a rematch to decide the ultimate winners! 

Friday: Apologies, appreciations and stands followed by community meeting – it’s brilliant to hear crew reflecting on the week and appreciating each other for their friendship and compassion. For instance, Ava appreciated Lacey for showing compassion by waiting for her after lesson so they could eat their dinner together. It’s the small acts of kindness that make a big difference.

Let’s see what next week has in store for us!

 

 

 

This week in Crew Young

By D Pearson11th October 2018

Crew Young have blended an academic check-in with our badminton tournament this week. Following our weekend check-in on Monday, Louie, Isabel and Ella were invited to choose and share a piece of work of which they are particularly proud from their portfolios on Tuesday. Moving forwards, we aim to become more forensic in our analysis of our Crew members’ academic attainment during HUMS and STEAM expeditions.

 

Today, despite our valiant attempts, we were largely unsuccessful in the badminton tournament against Crew Finch – congratulations to our opponents – but we gave it our best shot!

Climbing our Everests in Crew Ali

By J Townson11th October 2018

Last week, Crew Ali focussed on climbing their personal and academic mountains.  Some we had discussed at the beginning of the week, some were more unexpected.  We dealt with our emotions, physical and mental challenges and worked as a Crew to get through the week.

Ruby’s mountain was to “think about what I say before I say it”; being more mindful of her mountain really helped her to begin to achieve her aims.

Lacey said “my mountain was to stop cracking my fingers and I still do it a bit but not all the time”

Leoni chose to “try to use grammar correctly in class” and she feels she has improved in HUMAN this week in her poetry writing as a result of focussing on this mountain.

Charlie’s mountain was to “work hard in every lesson because I really enjoy HUMAN but I want to show my determination in other subjects too”; he’s getting there, but still has a way to go!

Cerys said she wanted to “put my hand up in HUMAN more often” and she is improving here.

Tom’s mountain was to “get the best poem possible in HUMAN”; he’s on his third draft this week and is feeling really positive about it.

Marshall’s mountain was “not to laugh in lessons unless it is appropriate” and his Crew have reported that he has worked really hard on this area.  He appreciated the Crew this morning for keeping him on track.

Well done Crew Ali!  Now to get further up the mountain or tackle the next!

Two Plus Two is Four!

By K Poncia10th October 2018

Today’s academic check-in for Churchill Crew focused on maths.

It was great for me to see, as crew leader, what students have been working hard on in the first six weeks of term: times tables, polygons, angles and perimeter.

We had an extremely productive discussion talking about being challenged, craftsmanship and quality and the importance of showing working out when solving a longer mathematical sum or word problem.

It was great to hear that Churchill Crew think that academic check-ins are going to help them work hard and get smart.

They also welcomed the fact that they will have very clear targets that they can be working on in lessons and we can then check-in with progress towards meeting these during our crew sessions.

 

 

A great week with Shackleton

By A Brown10th October 2018

Pledges

So we decided to upgrade our pledges from the beginning of the year and share them with Crew. We wrote down and shared our pledge in the middle of our hands, then placed stepping stones around the fingers about what we needed to do to achieve our pledge, and who could help.

It was amazing to see how many people acknowledged that Crew can help, and we can help each other to achieve our own goals and climb our own mountains.

 

Great work Crew Shackleton!

Checking in with Crew Turing

By Katie Haughey9th October 2018

Firstly, I’d like to state a massive thank you to all members of Crew Turing that helped out with our Y6 Open Evening, you were fantastic! I was so impressed to see Sammi’s, Jess’, Callum’s, Dylan’s and Charlotte’s confidence in talking to parents and year 6s about their expedition. They have grown so much in their maturity and character just 6 weeks into school and I really appreciate them taking time out their evenings to help us out!

This week during crew we’ve had three separate focuses, one being stewardship, another being their WW1 expedition, and the final being a personal focus on their life so far.

Whilst at Outward Bound, we came across the protocols of “de-gunge” and “leave no trace”. We spoke this week about how important it is that we respect our environment and how we can adopt these same protocols in school, especially after our busy open evenings. This is why stewardship has been our first focus, we spent half a session clearing up after we had the year 6s visit. We discussed the value we felt in keeping our school tidy, and how it should not be left to other staff to sort it.

Another highlight from our sessions has been the time we spent dedicating to show and tell. Lewis brought in some real ammunition which we passed round and some members of the crew were able to identify. Callum and Alice showed us pictures from their weekend trips to War Museums, which was insightful and really interesting! Finally, Reece brought in his family’s medals and historical documentation, as well as some pictures, which we really enjoyed looking through. I love to see how engrossed we all are in our expeditions, and how we’re taking time at the weekends and evenings to do additional research!

Finally, this week we’re working on a piece of art work in our crew, where the students will create a ‘river of their life’. We discussed pivotal events in their lives, such as starting school, siblings being born, getting pets etc., which they have all been encouraged to add to their rivers. It’s opened up some really amazing discussions about where our crew members have lived (Oman and South Africa!) and what fantastic achievements they have made, be it sporting, academic, with their friendships or families.

Jess’ piece showed just how incredibly creative she is, she added a beautiful drawing of herself kayaking, which she also competes in during the weekends – I loved this little touch that made her river so personal.

I look forward to updating you with our final products!