Crew 7DPE’s weekly blog

By D Pearson23rd April 2018

Monday 16th April – We checked in, by sharing with each other what we had been up to over the weekend.

Tuesday 17th April – Our HUMS teachers used Crew to help us to prepare for our forthcoming SLCs.

Wednesday 18th April – The Accelerated Reader programme requires us to spend one Crew session each week, as well as time at the start of sessions 1 and 4 and Extended Study time, engaged on quiet reading to improve our literacy levels.

Thursday 19th April – We used Crew time to start the tick list of tasks that are needed to prepare for the SLCs. Some of us sent e-mails to invite our parents to attend whilst – for those whose parents have already signed up – we sent out e-mails confirming appointment times.

Friday 20th April – Our whole school Community Meeting provides a weekly opportunity to give apologies and pledges, share appreciations and make stands for things that we feel strongly about. XP East held a further school-specific Community Meeting in the afternoon that was visited by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

OUR CREW ATTENDANCE FOR THE PREVIOUS WEEK WAS 97%. WHILST THIS IS VERY GOOD, AND ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE, CREW 7DPE ASPIRE TO BE TOP OF THE ATTENDANCE LEAGUE NEXT WEEK WITH AN EVEN HIGHER PERCENTAGE!

SLC Preparation

By J Smith21st April 2018

Crew Blog-

Crew JSM have been working extremely hard this week to ensure all portfolio work is in order for the 2nd student led conference of XPEAST. Three students have already completed their conference in the first part of the week.

The craftsmanship and quality and professionalism of those who have already performed has been outstanding. In particular the reflections made by Frida on her ‘most proud’ work and ‘area to improve’ was particularly impressive, and a credit to her character growth since starting at XP in August 2017.

 

Crew name

By A Parker16th April 2018

As much as we love to be known as Crew Parker, crews at XP are generally named after influential people who embody our character values and HOWLS (so, much more worthy than the humble Mrs Parker!)

We’ve been having lots of discussions about who we want to be named after, and have narrowed it down to two options: Crew Atticus (for Atticus Finch) or Crew Peake (for Tim Peake.)

The crew have been split into 2 teams, and each team will produce a character profile of Atticus and Peake, ready for our final vote before the end of term.

There is a firm favourite at the moment, so let’s see if the group presentations can sway the vote 🙂

Last week in 7DPE

By D Pearson15th April 2018

Monday 9th April – We all checked in to crew following the weekend.

Tuesday 10th April – We worked on our personal profiles – a series of Google slides to share a hobby or interest with our Crew members will allow us to become more confident and more proficient in our presentational skills. 

Wednesday 11th April – AR reading during Crew sessions is paying dividends as all students in our Crew are making progress in their reading levels.

Thursday 12th April – We joined Crew KPO in the drama room for a inter-Crew dodgeball session….with hastily amended rules.

Friday 13th Dec – Our whole school Community Meeting provides a weekly opportunity to give apologies and pledges, share appreciations and make stands for things that we feel strongly about. XP East School usually holds an additional school-specific Community Meeting on Friday afternoons.

‘Roots’ – A Soundtrack by Crew KPO

By K Poncia10th April 2018

As part of our expedition ‘Stand Up!’, we have been learning about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade during the 18th century.

To help us understand the deeper context of this time in history, we have been studying the mini-series ‘Roots’.

In Crew, we decided to create a soundtrack of songs which we think represent the life and times of the main character, Kunta Kinte.

Here are our choices.  Have a listen. What do you think?

 

Kaiden: Human by Rag ‘n’ Bone Man

Ben: Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

Kyle: Chain by Fleetwood Mac

Lewis: Human by Christina Perry

Rhys: You Don’t Own Me by The Blow Monkeys

Adam Mohammed: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson

Theone: Try by Pink

Aran: Glory by John Legend and Common

Alyssa: Because of You by Kelly Clarkson

Ruby: Where is the Love by Black-Eyed Peas

Tyler: I have Nothing by Whitney Houston

 

Accelerated Reader

6th April 2018A Parker

 

We spend a lot of time reading here at XP. East: we dedicate at least one Crew session a week to our accelerated reader programme and comprehension testing, as well as 15 minutes at the beginning of morning session, and another 15 minutes after lunch.  We also expect students to read for 20-30 minutes at home.  We are seeing some good progress in Crew Parker as students improve their reading age, and have strategies in place for those who need some extra support.

I do hear quite a few of our children grumbling when asked to get their reading books out, so it’s important to remind them why it’s so important, and why we invest so much time into reading:

  • Reading helps to build our vocabulary and language skills
  • Reading helps improve focus and concentration
  • It stimulates our imagination, which consequently helps to develop our own creative writing skills
  • A good book will leave us wanting more, so that we go on to learn more!
  • Developing good reading habits now will help the students when they go to University and have to research things using resources other than the internet (no, Google doesn’t have all the answers!)

As an ex-Librarian (or maybe that should be once a Librarian, always a Librarian!) I can’t promote the benefits of reading for pleasure enough.  I don’t really care if it’s a physical book or an e-book; it’s the act of reading that counts.

Last week in Crew 7DPE

By D Pearson26th March 2018

Monday 19th March – Our weekly check in provided an opportunity for students to share with our Crew the things that they had got up to over the weekend. Our Crew Leader also conducted an equipment check – everyone had basic equipment! Well done!

Tuesday 20th March – We spent Crew engaged in silent reading, on the Accelerated Reader programme. Our Crew Leader shared with us, on a one-to-one basis, our reading patterns and individual attendance records to school. We are now in second place overall in the attendance league table…..but I expect us to regain the top slot soon, as attendance is so important!

Wednesday 21st March- We ran and/or walked four laps around the stadium track in support of Sport Relief.

Thursday 22nd March – We completed a series of administrative tasks, and a survey circulated by Mrs Rigby’s Crew about the nature of waste and rubbish around the school site.

Friday 23rd March – An early start for Crew 7DPE as we visited our brand new school building, currently nearing the end of the construction phase. The potential for very high quality teaching and learning in such a fabulous learning environment is becoming obvious!

Compliment Cards

By A Parker20th March 2018

Today I asked my Crew to think about how they feel when they receive a compliment.  They make us feel happy, proud, emotional and sometimes a little bit embarrassed!  However, we all agreed that a compliment is a lovely thing to receive and can really make someone’s day.

So we decided to spread some Crew Parker love by making and delivering compliment cards to our fellow students, teachers and learning coaches.  Hopefully we helped to make another person feel good about themselves 🙂

Kicking off term 4 with Crew DPE

By D Pearson18th March 2018

Monday 12th March – An early start to term 4 with a prompt departure to Leeds University where we spent the day considering life at university, touring the campus and meeting undergraduate students. Medical student doctor Tom explained the difference between viruses and bacteria, and we designed our own pathogens……all of this to help us to anticipate the next Guiding Question that underpins work in our STEAM sessions.

Tuesday 13th March – We checked in, by sharing with each other what we had been up to over the 2 week holiday.  Our thoughts also turned to the fabulous immersion trip at Leeds Uni.

Wednesday 14th March – We held an impromptu XP East Community Meeting to look at the widening range of sports that we’ll experience this term.

Thursday 15th March – school photographs day! We spent most of Crew reading our AR books, and discussing our next Crew-led sessions.

Friday 16th March – Our whole school Community Meeting provides a weekly opportunity to give apologies and pledges, share appreciations and make stands for things that we feel strongly about. XP East usually holds a further school-specific Community Meeting in the afternoon.

Student-Led “Dodge-ball” in Crew 7DPE

By D Pearson23rd February 2018

Monday 19th Feb – We checked in, by sharing with each other what we had been up to over the weekend. Over the weekend Maclaren was awarded yet another medal for his Tae-kwondo!

Tuesday 20th Feb – Louie and George led a fun, physically active session in the drama studio, and set the standard for future student-led activities in Crew. We all got involved in Dodge-ball and raised our pulse rate for around 30 minutes. Thanks you two – we really appreciated your session.

Wednesday 21st Feb – Whilst our Crew leader worked with a few students to refine their Final Product animations, we joined Mr Smith’s Crew for more physical activity.

 Thursday 22nd Feb – The Accelerated Reader programme requires us to commit one Crew session per week to quiet reading in order to raise our literacy levels.

Friday 23rd Feb – Our whole school Community Meeting provides a weekly opportunity to give apologies and pledges, share appreciations and make stands for things that we feel strongly about. XP East usually holds a further school-specific Community Meeting in the afternoon.

Have a great break. We return to school on Monday 12th March. PLEASE NOTE THE EARLY START / ARRIVAL TIME (ON THE LETTER ISSUED RECENTLY) DUE TO OUR NEXT IMMERSION TRIP!