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.

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.

A massive ‘well done’ to our very own Noah for winning XP’s Got Talent – the first dance act ever to do!

Noah won with an impressive Billy Elliot-inspired tap dance to “I Like to Boogie.”

Brilliant!

(P.S the eagle-eyed amongst you would’ve noticed our new Crew name… blog post to follow!!)

So yesterday we returned to Malham Cove.  This is a very special place for us as a school, as it’s where we first got together as Crew.  I think it’s a fitting way to end what’s been an exhilarating, emotional and exciting first year together and all the students were thrilled to be back there!

We really enjoyed our time back in Malham (despite the lack of water in Janet’s Foss – the scene of our first ever Crew challenge!)

We climbed mountains together, walked miles together, got lost in a field together, and clambered over dry stone walls together!  The key word there is that we did everything “together”, just as we do every single morning in Crew and throughout the school day.

What a great way to spend a day: laughing, chatting and sharing memories…  We’ve spoken a lot about Crew over the past few weeks as part Expedition 360, but yesterday was all about our actions – not just words – confirming the very essence of Crew.

I could write a million things about each and every member of my Crew, about how much they’ve grown as individuals (and height!) and about how proud they make me every day.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,I’ve got the best job in the world.  And it’s all thanks to Crew.

Next stop: Wales 😉

I’d like to share a couple of events from this week, which have served to remind me what crew is about.

Firstly, as part of the World Cup celebrations in school, we’re participating in an inter-crew World Cup tournament.  We played our first matches on Wednesday: we won one, drew one and lost one!  We’re lucky to have a few really good footballers in our crew (Mackenzie, Bryn and Aden were outstanding!), whilst others aren’t as skilled and some would’ve preferred to sit out.  However, everyone mucked in and played to the best of their ability.  There weren’t any arguments about substitutions (so everyone got a go on the pitch) and nobody complained about our sometimes weak defence or missed goal opportunities (well, nobody except for me who went into full Alex Ferguson mode!!)  Sorry – no pictures of the players; I was too busy shouting from the sidelines!

The second event goes to show how the concept of crew extends beyond our own little group – our feeling of crew responsibility and what it stands for extends to our whole school.  So, I’d like to take the opportunity to publicly appreciate Nicole and her mum.

Nicole has a had a tough couple of weeks and myself, Mr Portman and her parents have done our best to support her.  We’ve had some difficult conversations, and Nicole has had to spend some time in Reflection.  I’m telling you this because it makes what happens next even more impressive…

We had our “That’s Sick!” Presentation of Learning on Wednesday.  I can’t stress enough the importance of these events – they are a culmination of our students’ hard work, and a chance for them to share their knowledge with an authentic audience.  It is important that the students –  and parents! – participate in these events.

Unfortunately, Nicole had an appointment in Rotherham at 3.45pm on Wednesday and, with the POL due to start at 4.30pm, we had resigned ourselves to the fact that Nicole wouldn’t be there.  Disappointing, but unavoidable.  However, imagine my delight when during the second part of the evening, I turned around to see Nicole sat at her desk answering another parent’s questions about the expedition!

So, why did I tell you about Nicole’s time in Reflection?  Because I truly believe that any other child in another school would not have shown the dedication, support and commitment to their school after being in trouble.  She didn’t have to come back, and we didn’t expect her back, but her mum drove her all the way back from Rotherham for the last 30 minutes.  All because Nicole didn’t want to let us down!

Now that’s Crew 🙂