XP East

Positive Covid case in E27/Y7 at XP East – Students to isolate

By Jamie Portman8th May 2021

Dear Parents / carers of Y7 students at XP East there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19.

After speaking with the family in question, conversations with staff and liaising with the educational public health helpline this morning, we have identified that your child has potentially been in close contact with the affected student as they are a member of the Y7 XP East year bubble. The public health helpline has advised me that in line with the national guidance your child should now stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days.

The helpline are asking us to do this to reduce the further spread of COVID 19 to others in the community.

If your child is well and does not have any Covid-19 related symptoms at the end of the 10 day period of self-isolation they can return to usual activities on Monday 17th May.

Other members of your household can continue normal activities provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 10 day self-isolation period.

We will now move to an online educational provision and details of this will be available on our school website shortly.

All other year groups at XP East will remain open.

What to do if your child develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID 19)

Having been identified as a close contact, if your child then develops symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), they should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) or a new, continuous cough, or a high temperature, or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia). Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for a PCR test – this is the type of test that is normally available and can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

People who do not have symptoms or have not tested positive using a Lateral Flow Device should not request a PCR test unless this has been specifically requested by Public Health England or the local authority.

Finally, we are really disappointed to have to inform parents and students about this sad news. We want our kids to be in school – not having to learn via computer screens. However, we realise that these steps are taken in the best interests of all involved. We will continue to do everything that it takes to support our students during this period.

I understand that the student is doing well, and we wish for a speedy recovery.

Keep an eye out for the online timetable – Mrs Vayro (Assistant Principal) is putting this together and it will begin with Crew on Monday at 8:30am.

Best wishes everyone.

Jamie Portman

E24 Science Mock Exams – May 17th and May 18th

By J Smith8th May 2021

Students in Year 10 have their Science mock papers on the afternoons of Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th May.

We have started revision in class and each student has been asked to join a group in Seneca where they can work through some revision activities.

The papers will be on the areas of study from their expeditions this year.

Paper 1: Monday 17th May PM – Communicable and non-communicable diseases

Paper 2: Tuesday 18th May PM – Magnetism and electromagnetism, hydrocarbons, electricity and alternative energy sources.

Information on effective revision in Science can be found here.

Students have access to a digital textbook through Kerboodle. There are some hard copies of textbooks which we can loan out if students prefer. They can get those from me.

C24 Spanish mock exams: additional information

By D Pearson7th May 2021

Recently our Year 10 / C24 GCSE Spanish group has been preparing for the forthcoming mock exams in speaking and writing. As our students were routinely exposed to the format and content of the role play and photo card tasks in sessions throughout year 9, they are already accustomed to their rubrics and are aware of the need to respond spontaneously to unexpected and unpredictable elements. This year we have additionally practised the general conversation task, that requires students to develop and extend their answers to a series of questions based on a general theme.

In terms of the Foundation Tier writing exam, our students are required to describe a photo in Spanish, write a 40 word paragraph using 4 bullet point prompts, translate 5 short sentences into Spanish and respond in writing to one of two 90 word tasks, again to the four bullet points that are provided. Each week since September, one of these tasks has been the focus of a full session, so that students have become familiar with what is required, and practised with a rubric according to exam criteria.

Our students will undoubtedly find these mock exams challenging, as opportunities for meaningful spoken interaction with others have been limited by the confines of distance learning, whilst retention and spontaneous recall of key grammar and vocabulary used in written Spanish has not been practised with anything like the regularity of previous years. However, we are confident that our students will continue the revision and preparation started in school over the last three weeks at home, and be well prepared for the two Spanish exams.

It would be fantastic if parents and carers could support during this time, even if it’s something as simple as listening to your son / daughter saying their General Conversation (either on School or Holidays.) As we said in class, students are completely in control of this part of the speaking exam. Please encourage them to spend time on this, along with drilling of verbs in the three main tenses (preterite, present and near future). Again, as we said in class, revision should be “little and often”, to help embed this current learning into long term memory.

Finally, thank you for your support during this period; please do not hesitate to contact me at school should you wish to discuss any of the above further.

Modern Magna Carta with E25

By Web Blogger6th May 2021

Today C25 citizenship groups thought about what a modern version of Magna Carta might say. We tested our creative skills with some tea staining and wax seals.

By Julie Wadsley5th May 2021

The vaccine nurses are in school tomorrow for those students (boys and girls) who have consented in Year 8 (1st dose) and Year 9 (2nd dose) for the HPV Vaccine. Thank you to all those parents who have been prompt in filling the form in and sending it off to RDASH.

E24 using their voice

By Web Blogger5th May 2021

Today E24 looked at ways to be heard through picketing, protesting and striking.

We thought about things that matter to us and the messages we wanted to send.

We’ve Got Some Wishes To Grant!

By S Mitchell2nd May 2021

Each crew at XP has a chosen charity that they raise money for. This charity resonates with the crew, ensuring all of the mindful work that is done is going towards something we hold near to our hearts. Crew Anoa’i chose Make-A-Wish UK.

Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 after a young boy, battling Leukaemia, wished to be a police officer for the day. The charity was inspired after Christopher Greicius’ family and friends came together to grant his wish ‘to be a police officer’. This kindness created a movement that would transform the lives of millions of sick children across the globe.

41 years later, Make-A-Wish has been granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses in nearly 50 countries, across 5 continents of the world. More than 500,000 wishes have been granted since that day.

Every year, Make-A-Wish brings people together in celebrating World Wish Day on April 29th, the anniversary of the wish that inspired the founding of the charity.

This year, the charity’s campaign ‘Don’t Wait for Hope. Create it.’ stems from the fact that wish families have been some of the hardest hit by the global pandemic. Feelings of detachment and trepidation have become the new normal for everyone, but they are often felt deepest by the most vulnerable, including children with critical illnesses.

Now more than ever, wishes can bring hope, joy and a sense of normality back into the lives of wish kids and their families. We can help make life-changing wishes come true, and that’s what Crew Anoa’i did this week.

On Thursday 29th April, World Wish Day, Crew Anoa’i held a raffle to raise money for Make-A-Wish UK. We gathered several prizes, ranging from confectionery to bath bombs sets, ensuring there were lots to be won. We then collected donations and drew the winning tickets. Let’s take a look at some of our lucky winners.

In total, we raised a whopping £90 in just two days!!

Crew Anoa’i would like to appreciate everyone who donated money towards our raffle, we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you everyone!!

Above all, compassion!

#MakeAWish

Lost Property at XP East

By S Mitchell2nd May 2021

Lost Property W/C 26th April

Please take a look at the following items which have been found and placed in Lost Property this week at XP East. If any of the items belong to you, please go the main office to collect them.

If the items are not claimed by Friday 7th May, they will be donated to charity.

Thank you!

Pulling Together as Crew!

By Web Blogger27th April 2021

We are living in uncertain times, what students don’t expect is having the uncertainty of how they are getting home from school at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, like many other schools in the area, XP has been hit by bike theft.

At XP we feel strongly about supporting our community, showing kindness, compassion and respect. We were devastated to hear that a member of a Crew had had their bike stolen, after hearing so much about the jaunts they had been on during lockdown with their siblings on it- plus the fact it was relatively new! Therefore, we want to put right the actions of others!

Crew members wanted to help and therefore a fundraising page was set up. This had an amazing response in such a short space of time. The target was smashed in no time!! So watch this space…

https://gofund.me/9b11c4c1

Keeping with the notion of showing compassion, we were privileged to be asked if Crew Rowling could model how we ran our Crew sessions to Mrs Watson’s Crew, Crew Rashford. This was a really positive experience and there were some amazing notices, wonders and questions about what was shared. We even had the opportunity to observe Crew Rashford in one of their sessions and give guidance on writing their Crew norms. Crew Rowling were excellent role models and gave praise and useful feedback to Crew Rashford which will give them the tools to keep them going from strength to strength. This in turn led us to reflect on how far we had come as a Crew and how much we wanted to continue to set a good example for others.

Above all, compassion

Mrs Barnes and Miss Johnson

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

By S Mitchell26th April 2021

Today Crew Anoa’i were on litter picking duty. This involved the whole crew taking part in our weekly clean up session. During crew time, we collected the equipment and headed out to the field at the back of the school. There we started our hunt to collect all of the litter we could find and dispose of it appropriately. Everyone got stuck in, taking it in turns to use the pickers. We found lots of different things along the way!

Surprisingly, Crew Anoa’i found this very entertaining. It was great to see some smiles this morning whilst we helped keep our environment clean and safe. As we made our way around the field, we found more and more rubbish. It was alarming to see how much rubbish that had gathered at the bottom of our school field. Good job Crew Anoa’i were here to clear things up!

It was also really great to see everyone working as a team. James and Jacob led the way by thinking outside of the box to creatively work together to gather some rubbish on the outer border of our school premises. Great work lads!

Crew Anoa’i would like to appreciate April Crawshaw in particular for getting her hands dirty and demonstrating great cleaning up skills. Well done April, keep it up!