Welcome Back!!

By Web Blogger12th April 2021

It’s been lovely seeing everyone face to face rather than on a screen! 

Crew seem to have grown at least a foot, with the exception of Miss Johnson and Mrs Barnes of course! Crew have settled back into being in school really well. I do not think the transition would have been as smooth without the continuous support that the members of Crew Rowling have given each other.

Crew Rowling have been lucky enough to gain a new crew member, Jake. I know that Crew Rowling are experts at making people feel welcome as I have witnessed it first hand. They pulled together to show Jake the ropes and he is fitting in great with our Crew sessions. He did shock us with his amazing ‘poker face’ during a game of ‘two truths, one lie’, which we used as a fun way of reconnecting after so long of not being together. Jake has also done a great job of helping Mrs Watson and his peer with litter picking and keeping the school looking clean and tidy. We were very impressed with the job they had done.

This week in Crew, students took time self evaluating their HoWLs and recorded this for each subject. The interactions between students were great as they gave feedback to each other via comments on the spreadsheet, highlighting areas that they may want to increase their grade and examples why. This seemed to give a boost in crew and everyone seemed quite positive after the session. I do think some were a little hard on themselves to start with.

 

Rounding off last week, we played the mystery game ‘Mafia’,  where Harvey did a fantastic job of narrating and making the story entertaining. It was a great way to end the week and we went into the E26 community meeting on a high after having fun as a Crew. 

Keep up the good work Crew Rowling!

Mrs Barnes and Miss Johnson

X27 and E27 and their first art expert!

By Emily Jones28th March 2021

On Thursday, all our Year 7 students had a hangout with their first art expert.

Their expert was called Derek Robertson who was speaking to our pupils about his ‘Migrations‘ exhibition.

These pieces of artwork that Derek created fitted in perfectly with Y7’s current expedition called ‘Wherever I lay my hat’ where they are answering the guiding question of ‘Is migration worth the risk?’

Our expert was able to give our students information about his experiences when visiting refugee camps around the world and insights into the lives of the people he met.

Mr. Wilmot made loads of notes!

Mrs. Marshall was on fire with the anchor charts.

Miss Hickson was busy making notes on the board.

Manveer and Maisie shared the notes that they wrote during the hangout.

Keegan even recorded the whole hangout as a voice note on his iPad and sent it to me!

I was so impressed with our Year 7’s. They were respectful and inquisitive. They asked some fantastic questions and wrote brilliant notes.

Well done Y7!

Recharging and Reconnecting with ‘Off Screen’ time

By Web Blogger28th February 2021

Another great week for Crew Rowling this week, they continue to blow me away with their hard work, positivity and creativity.

 

Crew Highlights (from Crew members):

-Harvey always has an answer ready and is always listening.

-Thomas works really hard to make his work the best that he can do and always has a good detailed answer.

-Layton is always prepared to give critique to others in his class and is always there when you need help or struggling with any work at all.

-Cerrina gives a lot of helpful feedback and she is an amazing friend. She is very helpful and kind, thank you! Cerrina is also always asking for critique to make her work better which shows how much she cares about her lessons and how responsible she is for her learning.

 

Other news this week:

-Faith’s quiz was slightly kinder than previous weeks and no one is looking forward to Layton’s turn more than him so he can reduce everyone else’s brain cells! These quizzes really have become something we all look forward to!

– Shawn’s recreation for the ‘Off screen’ task on Wednesday made headlines in our community meeting and made everyone laugh, it was brilliant!

 

Star Student Nominations for last week:

 

There were some great nominations within Crew for our star student. I wanted to share these with you all as it is always lovely to hear the Crews thoughts on the efforts put in by their peers. 

 

Shawn was nominated as he always works hard in sessions and in science he helped a group of people who didn’t understand the task.

Harvey is always on task every week so he was nominated for his consistency and dedication.

Layton was nominated as he always works hard and on Thursday in science he was doing very well grappling with his work.

Charlotte, for always joining the call on time and working harder in lessons.

Tom because even though he had trouble logging into his school account he still tried to take part in the lessons as much as he could.

 

The winner over all this week with a majority of votes was Tom! 

As a Crew we saw how hard you tried to participate in lessons and the work set when you were having trouble with your account, Well done!

 

‘Off Screen’ Time

 

This week we began our off screen time as we acknowledged how much time we are all spending on our screens, we therefore have come up with tasks to get us off the screens, recharging and reconnecting with things we enjoy and our family.

 

Tuesday was launch day so we decided to get out and photograph nature, the majority got involved and we had some beautiful photos uploaded to our Crew slides.

Wednesday we were tasked with recreating something in our house. Some decided to draw items, build items and Shawn made himself into a burger!

Thursday it was time to do something with our families. Activities varied and it was great to see how much everyone enjoyed this. There were bike rides, walks, board games, reading, baking, trips to the park, exercising and relaxing with pets.

Friday we got competitive with a scavenger hunt! 

For those who have attended the in-school provision, they also completed activities within school, including board games, dancing and outdoor photography. 

 

We have all enjoyed these activities so far and it has given a boost within Crew. It’s been good to check in each morning with what we have all been up to by looking through photos of everyone’s activities.

 

Keep up the good work everyone and keep the amazing photos coming in!

 

Mrs Barnes

Another positive week for Crew Rowling!

By Web Blogger19th February 2021

This week saw Crew Rowling complete their Student Led Conference’s online and both Mrs Barnes and I were blown away by the effort students had put in and the level of confidence and commitment to their studies students shown.

It was a very proud moment for me personally seeing how far each individual had come since the first round of SLC’s we completed in Year 7, it also made me eager to return to school and unite as a Crew to follow up on some of the pledges and actions which were discussed.

Though all of the students did a superb job adapting to online SLCs, presenting their screen and sharing their work virtually, there were some who had gone the extra mile to also include a presentation! Great work by Harvey, Cerrina, and Tom, who had done this off their own back following a suggestion by another Crew member.

It was also nice to be able to see Logan! His camera hasn’t worked all lock down, but for the SLC he was able to use another device- Mrs Barnes and I couldn’t believe how much more grown up he looked!

It made us wonder if we would recognise our Crew when they returned!

This week, as always, we nominated a ‘Star of the Week’ for Crew and within the Y8 phase, and the winner was…

Cerrina!

Both Crew and the year group recognised that Cerrina has been trying really hard in all of her sessions, and supporting others where possible. She has been actively engaged asking questions and also creating separate hangouts to support students in the longer lunch breaks.

 

Other Crew Highlights for this week:

  • Faith is working hard, contributing with amazing answers. It is clear she is always engaged!
  • Miss Barnes has been appreciated for being a very kind person who can always find a way to cheer you up! We also appreciate all of the help, guidance, and checking you did of the SLC scripts to ensure we presented well. 
  • Lily read out her SLC with the struggle of the ‘present now’ button not working, and though she is hesitant to put her hand up for questions, when she gets cold calls she comes out with amazing answers!
  • Charlotte has improved getting on calls as much as possible and has done some beautiful work!
  • Ben is always on lessons and is there to help whenever someone needs it. He always has the best answers when a teacher calls his name and many people have probably learnt from his help and critique in the SLC practise! 

We thought about some reflections in Crew this week and I wanted to share this comment that stood out to me:

“I feel the whole crew has really benefited from lockdown as we’re helping each other and pushing each other to achieve higher.”

This made us think of what we can do to have a positive impact, not only in Crew but in our school community and at home with our parents. Off the back of this we all agreed to complete an act of kindness this week, and it was great to check in and see the impact some of the appreciation emails and support we had given had had on others. After all, we all need to help each other up the mountain!

We ended last week on a very professional quiz from Shawn who had captured it on slides!

This Friday we look forward to Faith’s Quiz, who has already tested out her Quiz on her parents! Hopefully it isn’t too tough, i’m growing concerned at the amount of braincells Layton feels he is losing!

Stay safe and look after each other, 

Miss Johnson

 

 

The Power of a Quiz!

By Web Blogger17th February 2021

Wow, what a couple of weeks! 

 

Everyone has worked so hard on their SLC preparations within crew time over the last few weeks. Quiz Friday has become something we all look forward to and Rhys’ ‘hardest quiz in the world’ on 5th February was a great way to unwind and have some fun. Even though we found it super difficult, we all laughed throughout.

 

Star Student Nominations!

 

Each week in our crew session on a Friday afternoon we vote for an over all star student, this is within Crew and the year group and announced within our community meeting. We are proud to announce that these students were selected as nominees for start student from not only our Crew but also others within E26.

 

  • 22nd January 2021, Shawn was nominated for trying every challenge he is given, giving detailed answers to questions and working hard no matter the situation.
  • 5th February 2021, Lydia was nominated for always being kind, contributing in lessons, always being on time and consistently working hard and trying her best in all sessions.

 

Well done both of you! Your hard work is paying off- keep it up!

 

Crew Highlights: (Discussed and nominated by Crew members)

 

  • Rhys has been working really hard especially in maths. His quiz was just as hard as Harvey’s the previous week, but great fun! (We were hoping Shawn might be easy on us with his quiz)
  • Cerrina always tries her best and answers lots of questions in her science session.
  • Logan has been working really hard and has improved by speaking up more in crew sessions.

 

The Crew also wanted to highlight how Miss Jonson always knows what to do in any situation, how organised she is and how much support she has given to the Crew during the preparation for SLC’s which has been difficult online.

 

I want to say a huge appreciation to all of Crew Rowling for their continued efforts with their online sessions, their never ending support for each other and never failing to make quiz Friday so much fun!

 

Stay safe 🙂

 

(Mrs Barnes and all of Crew Rowling)

Expeditionary Art Gallery – Lockdown 3.0 – Part 1

By Emily Jones27th January 2021

Hi all,

Here is a rundown of some of the beautiful artwork that has been produced by our wonderful XP and XPE students during lockdown 3.0.

As a team, we have been blown away by the effort and resilience that our pupils are showing.

I hope you enjoy having a flick through their work as much as we have.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Bop, bop, bop, straight to the top of the HOWLs leaderboard!

By Web Blogger21st January 2021

Well, back online it is… but as expected, Crew Rowling are smashing it out the park!

As we know, we’re not a competitive Crew at all 🧐 🤪  However, i am super duper excited to reveal the latest HOWLS data:

Work hard: 3.59

Get smart: 3.5

Be kind: 3.8

Which is not only impressive as far as a set of Crew averages go… but it also means…

WE HAVE THE BEST HOWLS IN XP EAST!

and

THE BEST (WH/ BK) ACROSS BOTH SCHOOLS!

This is down to the fantastic efforts of all members of the Crew, sharing their ideas, contributing to sessions, supporting one another, and generally being Crew. Mrs Barnes has definitely joined the best!

Speaking of Mrs Barnes, all Crew members received a phone call or email home over the last week or so and feels they were really positive. She enjoyed getting to know Crew parents and we hope that this supports the transition into having not just 1 Crew Leader.. but 2!

Over the last couple of weeks Mrs Barnes has been taking some of our Crew sessions whilst I have been attending meetings under my new role, I have been pleased to see students still logging in on time, paying attention, and completing what is expected. I am proud of the grafters they have become/ are becoming!

Crew highlights: 

  • All Crew members are attending sessions on time and completing work expected.
  • The hangout chat has been a huge success again. Students are relying on each other for support and removing any issues by simply reaching out. This has also helped students to complete work when they are struggling.
  • Shawn provided some thought provoking Check In questions.
  • Harvey has taken on the first of the returning Friday afternoon quiz (I know some parents will be pleased to hear this!) 
  • Cerrina and Harvey have been keeping everyone organised ensuring they share the relevant hangout link before sessions.
  • SLC scripts are coming along nicely and all Crew members are working hard- even adding peer critique!
  • Faith has been acting as a Learning Coach in the in school provision, alongside doing her work to support other students. Take a look at the notes she has captured:

There’s so much more i could go on all day… 

 

In light of the work we have been doing around Crew HOWLs, we intend to raise the profile of students being Great and Awesome by spotlighting one student per week on our blog, this will be written by a Crew member so they can highlight what has been discussed during sessions. This should give support to others who are trying to improve their HOWLs grades and inspire them to become Awesome too! Keep your eyes peeled for who is in the spotlight in next weeks blog post!

I appreciate all of the hard work Crew Rowling are doing, and i know Mrs Barnes does too. Not only are you becoming leaders of your own learning but you’re making our job super easy too!

Stay safe and well. 

 

Merry Christmas from crew Mercury!

By Rachael Rothwell17th December 2020

Merry Christmas from crew Mercury!

What a way to end a tough term at school. It was fab to see the students back in school following their time completing online learning. Our crew certainly enjoyed opening their secret santa gifts!

A great return for crew Mercury!

By Rachael Rothwell13th November 2020

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!

 

 

E27 making a mark in art

By Emily Jones2nd October 2020

E27 have really impressed me in their art sessions. They have been learning about line drawing using a range of media including pencil, fine liner, biro and sharpies.

We have looked at how we can use different types of lines to create a range of effects and also grappled with creating a continuous line drawing of a shell (which a lot of pupils found really challenging).

They have listened to my instructions really well and grappled with some new techniques.

All Y7 pupils have also been set homework to create a line drawing of their house, which I am really looking forward to seeing.

Here are some lovely examples of the work E27 Explorer and Pioneer have created in their art sessions.