We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the Y10 year bubble.
We have followed the national guidance and have identified that your child has potentially been in close contact with the affected student as they are a member of the Y10 XP East year bubble. In line with the national guidance your child should now stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days.
We are asking you 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 14 day period of self-isolation they can return to usual activities on Monday 23rd November.
Other members of your household can continue normal activities provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 14 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 (except Y7 who are currently isolating) will remain open.
After speaking with the family of the student in question today, I understand that they are doing well and we look forward to having everyone back where they belong on the Monday 23rd November.
This Tuesday will be a full crew day for XP16 students. All academic sessions have been cancelled, however students are expected to attend and take part in the day’s crew sessions so please let me know asap if there are any issues with this.
The day will start at 9.15am and finish at 3.15pm.
Most of the day will be spent outside so please make sure you have warm appropriate clothing and footwear. Please bring a change of shoes for wearing in doors.
Kit List:
Warm layers
Warm hat & gloves
Waterproof coat and trousers
Appropriate footwear
Shoes for indoors
(If you have difficulty getting any of the above let me know by the end of the day on Monday).
I have recently become a Forest School Practitioner and am currently working on bringing aspects of Forest school into XP Trust’s Outdoor expeditions programme.
The very first shaping up project is to create our Fire Circle. The fire circle (with or without a lit fire) is another circular area for crews to come together to share experience and build community.
I would like to create this area with my XP16 crew.
The activities the students will be involved in during the day will will help us grow as a crew through working as a team, communication, organisation and planning together, Students will also learn some basic forest skills, such as creating fire using flint and steel along with fire safety. Students will need to grapple and be resilient in order to succeed at some of these tasks.
The plan is to spend the morning creating and building XP & XP East’s very first fire circle. After lunch we will learn how to create fire using flint and steel and how to build & maintain a fire so we can have hot drinks and toast marshmallows to which we will invite some of your teaching staff to join us.
At the end of the day we will degunge, debrief the day and put out our fire as a crew, finishing for 3.15pm.
If for any reason you are unable to attend the whole day please let me know asap.
I’m really looking forward to spending this time with you all. Remember to have waterproofs and plenty of warm clothing!
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Cheers
Towards the end of last term, Crew Finch undertook what has now become the annual task of setting their Pledges for the academic year.
Before doing so, we spent some time reflecting on the pledges from the previous year and, even though the last school year was interrupted, many of those pledges were fulfilled! For example, quite a few Crew members wanted to improve their reading and comprehension skills – Big Tick to several of those who pledged to do so, as shown with our recent AR Star Reader test results (as mentioned in this previous blog.)
I wasn’t surprised to see that many of this year’s Crew Pledges were focussed around their Choice GCSE/BTEC subjects. Although Choice is supported by a teacher or a mentor, there is a strong expectation that students become leaders of their own learning and commit to studying in their own time. Quite a few of these pledges recognise this and acknowledge that it’s going to be hard work.
Crew have not only pledged to work hard in their Choice subjects, they have also asked Crew to support them by holding them accountable and challenging them if they’re not working as hard as they should be (just a little ‘nudge’ now and then!)
This just goes to show how much Crew support is valued and needed, probably now more than ever.
We will have regular pledge check-ins throughout the year.
“…Ive failed over and over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed…..”
Michael Jordan
To say that Ive missed my Crew this past week would be an understatement. That’s how important they are to me. My Crew have developed such incredible characters, personalities and relationships with one another, that at times they leave me speechless. These 13 individuals, who sat on their blue plastic chairs for the first time – only a few months ago, are travelling incrementally into the next, and the next, and the next phases of their lives with courage, determination and a desire to be the very best versions of themselves…
And they’ve achieved this change by being brave, by being honest with themselves, and by accepting that failure is something that has to be a part of their overall learning experience – somewhere along the way.
This past week has been a challenge for us all.
We’ve had disconnections, dropped calls, missed appointments, lay-ins, alarms not going off, and in KH’s case, the kitchen people ripping out his kitchen and cutting off his electricity….all challenges which we have collectively grappled and overcome.
Ive been shown more Harry Potter Wands in one week than Ive seen in my entire lifetime, and been given an insight into some of the things that make my Crew tick when they’re at home. It’s been an experience for us all.
There will be tougher challenges as we move forward, but provided we maintain the same positivity and determination which we have shown in this first challenging week, then this is something which will ultimately define us, both as individuals and as XP.
I believe in my Crew, and I know that every other Crew Leader feels the same about theirs too. Crew MKE, keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing on this learning journey but this time just turn up your determination and desire to learn by another notch on the dial.
Be excited about your learning, be excited about your futures and keep focussing on the day you walk out of XP for the very last time as the ultimate version of YOU. Every second of this journey counts, and you are the captains of your destiny, the leaders of your own learning. Believe in your dreams and aspirations and they WILL happen.
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.
I hope you’re all keeping safe and well! I managed to get into a few lessons on Tuesday before isolation began and I was so struck by how my crew have fallen back into Working hard, getting smart and being kind! They fell straight back into school life and it was a pleasure to watch them in their stride and doing what they do best!
We have Leo, Tammy, Alfie and Brooke working hard in Hums looking at causes of the peasants revolt and Charlotte, Brodie and Cam smashing it learning about molecules in science!
Keep up the amazing online learning, you’re doing a fabulous job all of you!
We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the Y7 Year bubble.
We have followed the national guidance and 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. In line with the national guidance your child should now stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days.
We are asking you 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 14 day period of self-isolation they can return to usual activities on Tuesday 17th November.
Other members of your household can continue normal activities provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 14 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.
After speaking with the family of the student in question today, I understand that they are doing well and we look forward to having everyone back where they belong on the 17th November.
Our year 9 students were lucky enough to get out on fieldwork on the final week of term to complete work relating to their ‘Welcome to the machine’ expedition. Over the next seven weeks of the winter term, they will be working on their answer to the guiding question:
‘Do the benefits of industrialisation outweigh the costs?’
For their first STEAM case studies, students have been looking at conservation data, learning about how data can be collected and displayed using multiple representations. They have also been learning about specialisation and ecosystem management.
They visited The Hatfield Moors, our local nature reserve, to examine the extent of the fire damage from earlier this year. Students have been learning about the protected species that can be found at the site, particularly the adder, and how Natural England and the fire service prioritised safeguarding these species during the clear up operation.
While at the site, students conducted a series of sampling techniques, as well as collecting data on the wildlife. Sadly, due to slight delays in being able to visit the site, we weren’t able to spot any adders as they have likely gone into hibernation for the winter, however, students were still able to find other species key to maintaining and supporting the ecosystem at the wetland.
Students also conducted a number of tests on the site, in accordance with their two daily learning targets for the day:
1. I can estimate the population density of a species using random sampling techniques.
Students engaged in data collection of various parts of the site, using quadrats to provide increasingly accurate estimations of species numbers in the areas we sampled. We created a set of axes, used a random number generator to find coordinates to sample, and collected the data from those coordinates.
After collecting data in teams of three, we used all the data collected to calculate the predicted species number, based on scaling up the measurements to accommodate the size of the field. In debrief, due to a large range in answers, we went on to calculate the mean for those estimations, to create a more accurate estimation. We also discussed why using the random number generator was fundamental in keeping our research free from bias.
2. I can investigate the effects of abiotic factors using systematic sampling techniques.
Students then went on to conduct a series of pH tests on the wetlands, again using their quadrats placed along a transect, to link changes in species to abiotic factors of the wetlands. In debrief, we examined the data, looking for patterns relating to the abundance of the plant species and the abiotic factor recorded.
I’d also like to thank our very own Marshall Jones, for taking his time on the day and spare time to create this amazing vlog documenting the day:
I feel incredibly fortunate that we were able to make it out to the site given the current circumstances, and I really look forward to hear how the work the students have done on this series of case studies will inform their guiding question answers over the coming weeks.
* Update: In order to find out the lockdown rules for the area of Doncaster please click onto this BBC website and enter our postcode of DN45NG.
I would like to begin by thanking parents and carers for the support that you have continually provided us since we reopened after the Lockdown period. The last 8 weeks have been fraught with many different challenges, questions and anxieties but we couldn’t have made it this far without your trust and support – so thank you!
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic we have carefully followed guidance from Public Health Doncaster and the Department for Education. As we have a ‘system of controls’ in place, these organisations have stated that face masks or coverings have not been necessary. However, the recent Government announcement regarding the introduction of the 3 tier alert system has confirmed that Doncaster will be categorised as tier 2 (edit: Doncaster has since been put into Tier 3 since this post was originally published).
As a result of this, students and staff will now be required to wear a face mask or covering in our schools. They will not be expected to wear masks or coverings in classrooms, but can do if they so wish.
When will staff and students have to wear face masks or face coverings?
We will be implementing the change via a phased approach as highlighted below. From tomorrow and Friday, staff and students will be encouraged to wear a face mask or covering if they have one – but this will become compulsory after the school holiday:
Thursday 15th October: encouraged to wear a face mask / covering if they have one
Friday 16th October: encouraged to wear one if you have a mask
Monday 2nd November – compulsory for everyone
Where will staff and students have to wear face masks or coverings?
When they enter the building
On corridors including movement between lessons
Lining up at lunchtime and movement around the canteen areas (not when sat down in preparation to eat lunch)
Whenever they leave the classroom (toilet, fire evacuation etc)
I am aware that some students will be exempt from wearing a face mask or covering, and this will be handled sensitively. Information around exemptions is available here.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Crew Leaders in the first instance, myself or our Phase Leads to answer any questions that you may have.
This morning I had a conversation with a parent due to a confirmed positive case of Covid19 in Y8 at XP East. The specific details concerning the case are as followed:
The student was not in school last week, and was last in school on Friday 2nd October.
The student showed symptoms at home on Tuesday 6th October, the test was taken on Wednesday 7th October, and the positive result came through on Saturday 10th October.
I spoke to the Department for Education helpline this morning and their instruction to me was:
‘No further action is required because the student was not in school during the considered infectious period of 2 days before the onset of symptoms.’
Therefore, the year bubble does not have to close.
I can assure parents that I ran through the scenario concerning the timeline above with the Department for Education on several occasions. They were clear that because the onset of symptoms started 4 days after the student was last in school, this was outside of the 2 day infectious period – as a result ‘no further action is required’.
As this is our first confirmed case of Covid19 in a student, I understand that some parents may have specific concerns or worries. Therefore, please don’t hesitate to email myself or the specific Assistant Principal of your child’s phase regarding any questions or issues you wish to discuss.
The student is doing well and I am in touch with the family. We look forward to their return to school after the isolation period has ended.
