Coming back stronger and wiser

By A Parker12th September 2020

Crew have been well and truly on it this week, no more so than on what we now call Wise Wednesday, where we’ve started to look at revision techniques to help prepare for GCSEs (it’s never too early!)

This week, we looked at memory recall – in particular, cognitive load theory and the forgetting curve (thanks to a master class from Mr Portman!) which illustrated why it’s so important to keep on going over new information until it is stored in our long term memory.

So, Crew have started to create flash cards to help them remember key points from their GCSE text ‘A Christmas Carol’ which they can keep on revisiting over then next 18 months or so, and I’ll be encouraging them to do the same for other subjects, too.  Hopefully this will make the last few weeks before exams a little bit less stressful as they will have had a head start on retaining key information.

It’s really great to see how Crew are becoming leaders of their own learning since returning to school and already planning how they can do their absolute best in their exams.

We’ve had lots of discussions around our HOWLs and getting back on it over the last couple of weeks, and I’d like to give a special mention to Thomas H who has been working exceptionally hard and contributing in all lessons.  He is setting a fine example to the rest of Crew.

XPE Lost Property

By K Poncia11th September 2020

Please take a look at the following items which have been found and placed in Lost Property this week in XP East.

If any of the items are not claimed by Friday 16th September, they will be donated to charity.

Thank you

Crew Ibbotson settling in!

By Web Blogger8th September 2020

Crew Ibbotson have had a fantastic first two weeks at XP East and they have adapted and shown amazing courage! We started amazingly developing our sense of crew by carrying out team building exercises and we had so much fun doing so, especially the marshmallow towers! Appreciation to Tammy, Brodie, Alfie, Cameron and Arina who won the challenge!

 

We have spoken about diversity in our crew and they have developed some fantastic and mature ideas and discussions, they have shown respect and integrity throughout all discussions! 

 

We have a strong sense of crew already and we are currently discussing possible names for our crews of influential figures which is prompting some amazing debates! I know our crew will only get stronger with these guys bringing out the best in each other and the best in me! 

Crew MKE…..the journey begins !

By Web Blogger8th September 2020

So…what do a dancing expert, a future England cricket star, an origami master, a tech guru and a Harry Potter Wiz all have in common ? Well, they are just some of the diverse hobbies, interests and aspirations of some of the new members of Year 7 Crew MKE !

My new Crew have already hit the ground running and proven themselves to have qualities, characters and capabilities well beyond their years. The students have willingly grasped the concepts of XP’s Character Values and they already understand the ethics and importance of our HOWLs.

Just as important, Crew have identified the importance, and found the courage to be able to make apologies and show their appreciation to others within open forums. Well done !

This is going to be as much of a journey for me as it is for my Crew, and I’ll keep all of you informed every step of the way so that we can share the important moments as they occur.

Crew MKE, give yourselves a pat on the back. You’ve made a great start. Stay strong, stay proud and carry on as you’ve started. YOU ARE XP !

 

Martyn Kellett

Learning Coach & Year 7 Crew Leader

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections on our return

6th September 2020D Pearson

It’s been absolutely brilliant to see Crew Young return to school with such a focused start to their year 10 after months in lock-down! Last week we watched a video that showed the origins of XP School, and how the first year group set the bar……it’s fair to say that at XP East our “Youngsters” are doing the same!

I also asked our Crew for their reflections on their return to school and it’s clear from their comments that they just want things to be back to normal:

“At first, I was excited to see all of my mates, but at the same time, I had a slight worry in my mind of how the norms would be when we return back to school. Overall, I was happy to be back at school and it had exceeded my expectations”.

“To be honest my return on school didn’t make me feel anxious to be mixing with a large group of people at all as during lock-down I still mixed occasionally with people when I could whilst playing basketball. I was more anxious about the fact the GCSEs are coming closer which causes unnecessary stress. However, now that stress has somewhat subsided and isn’t as much of a worry but glad to be at school as it’s a sign things are normalising again”.

“To reflect on my return to school, I wasn’t very worried about coming back because I knew that the guidelines would be followed by school and that I wouldn’t feel unsafe at all…..”.

“Before coming back to school, I was thinking about how it would all work whether it was class or just around school. I was excited to see my friends again but I also wasn’t looking forward to possibly having to keep 2 metres.Now I’m not as concerned about any of this because nothing has really changed other than having to sanitise my hands every time I enter the building”.

“…..During the quarantine, I didn’t meet my school friends even once, and we only really started keeping contact again a couple of weeks before we came back. Despite that, the idea of getting to see my friends was exhilarating after months spent isolated. And finally, I was glad that the ordeal was over. As somebody who was quarantined a week longer than the rest of the UK, I began to feel how tedious lock-down had become by the fourth month. I found myself counting the days until I was back at school again, purely because I longed for some sense of normality, for feeling like a functioning human again. That’s why I was extremely glad that school managed to open”.

We’re back….even stronger than before!

Glad to be back

By Katie Haughey6th September 2020

I was absolutely delighted to welcome my crew back this week after a long few months of distance learning and the summer break. The change in all thirteen members of my crew that I’ve picked up on over the past week and a half has been astonishing – and I don’t just mean the fact that they’ve all shot up and I don’t recognise their broken voices!

We started back a couple of weeks ago sharing what we’d been up to during the break and making pledges about the sort of person we want to be in year 9. This is a really important year with passage and the Duke of Edinburgh award, so getting our priorities right in these first few weeks is vital. Everyone is excited about doing the outdoor element of the DofE award, as am I. We’ll be working on their first aid skills in coming Friday crew sessions.

Academic crew

We held our first academic crew of the year on Thursday this week. We fetched all workbooks from the short-lived year 8 year, and had a flick through them to discuss what we felt proud of and what elements of our work we wished to improve. There were a few comments about craftmanship and quality that we will be holding each other to account over the coming months, and a few people who noticed that they’d not put as much detail as others in certain activities, so pledged to be productive in their session time.

On the whole I was incredibly impressed with the quality of their work, and am excited to see what they’re capable of producing this year.

Notting Hill Carnival – Why’s it important we celebrate different cultures?

I’d like to appreciate Mrs Hannam for sharing the work she did on Notting Hill Carnival that should have taken place over the August bank holiday weekend. We learnt about the history of Carnival and discussed why these sorts of events and customs we celebrate that are similar. We also discussed historical issues surrounding the press and police involvement in Carnival celebrations, and how that may have influenced people’s perceptions of the celebration.

Birthday celebrations!

We ended crew this Friday with cake and co-op activities, to celebrate the many crew members birthdays that are in late August / early September. We reflected on the arrival of a new year 7 cohort and comparing it with our crew in year 7. We laughed about how sweet all the year 7 friendship-based appreciations were in the community meeting and how during the first few community meetings, I had to limit them to one appreciation each. If only they were still so keen!

UPDATE: What to do if my child or someone in my household has Covid-19 symptoms

4th September 2020Jamie Portman

UPDATE: As of Sunday 6th September 5pm we have not had any member of our community test positive for Covid-19.

The following was posted on Friday 4th September:
I wanted to update our community on the recent school reopening procedures, and outline the specifics for what parents should do if their child or anyone in their household has any Covid-19 symptoms.

We really appreciate the positive feedback that we have received concerning the website that we created to support parents through the reopening process. As you will have seen, the videos explain the extensive measures that we have put into place concerning entry into the school environment, building, classrooms arranged into zones, split breaks / lunches etc.

As Principal of both XP and XP East, I have been absolutely delighted with the mature and focused approach from all of our students. To say their behaviour has been outstanding would honestly be an understatement. As we progress throughout the weeks and terms ahead we will need to maintain this level of conduct, and I know that we will be able to count on parents to support us as we continue to navigate any potential challenges that lie ahead.

Remember, if students show the following symptoms parents must ensure that they are tested:

  • A new, continuous cough (where you cough a lot for more than an hour, or have three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours)
  • Fever – where your temperature is above 37.8C
  • Loss of smell or taste

In addition, the table below includes specific details about what to do regarding a range of different scenarios for anyone else in their household (for instance, the Mother of a child that goes to XP).

 

 

Back where we belong!

By A Parker3rd September 2020

My newsfeed has been overrun with ‘back to school’ photos this week – so here’s ours!

After almost 6 months apart, it’s fantastic to be back in Crew together – albeit socially distanced from me, as per our bubble safety measures!

I can’t praise my Crew enough for how they’ve handled the return to school.  They all sauntered back into school like they’d never been away, keen to get right back into lessons.  It’s been an absolute joy to see them back where they belong, sat at their desks with their classmates, enjoying the challenges of this week’s immersion activities.

I always notice the physical changes after the Summer holidays, but the changes have been on another level this year.  Yes, they’ve all come back taller, but I’m even more astounded by the changes in their attitude and outlook.  All of a sudden, my Crew are very grown up!

As we look ahead to what we want to achieve in Y10,  we’ve spent some time revisiting the pledges we made at the start of Y9.  This time last year we were thinking about Passage Presentations and beginning our GCSE journey.  Many of the pledges focussed on improving HOWLs grades in certain subjects by the end of the school year… but the rest is history and we never got to see what those grades would’ve been!

However, I reckon Crew have achieved so much on a personal level during lockdown, above and beyond what we could teach them in school (and no, I’m not talking about Mackenzie’s new found block paving skills!)

So, as most of them wanted to end last year with improved grades, I’m giving them all a 4.5 for their courage, resilience and determination not to let the missed time at school hold them back from wanting to succeed.

Year 10 – we’re ready for you 🙂

First day back and GCSE Options C24

By J Smith26th August 2020

It has been fantastic to see the students back in year 10 after so long out of school. The students displayed fantastic maturity and conduct throughout the crew day and all were highly respectful of the new routines that are in place to keep students in the year 10 bubble.

In addition to new safety measures that have been but in place, we have also updated the offer for common mission and choice of subjects to be studied in year 10 and 11. The new options for our students are attached below.

Common Mission Offer 2020

Due to Co-vid, our students did not start their initial choice in March as planned as we went into lockdown and closed our school. Although our students made choices 9 months ago, due to changes to the offer, and the amount of time since the first decision, we feel it is right students and parents have the opportunity to make the choice once again based on the new offer.

The chosen Qualification of year 10 students will be started on the second week back of term- this means that students choice of GCSE will we collected in crew before the end of the week- to allow the preparations needed to set up groups.

Thanks

Mr J Smith