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.
As part of our Mindful Monday activities, members of the group have been nominating charities they would like Crew Obama to support this year. This was quite a challenging task to set for a year eight group, requiring independent thought, compassion and decision making. I have been very impressed by the pupils’ work!
I would like to appreciate all the children for taking time to prepare for sharing their choice in Crew. Some children have nominated charities which have touched their lives in a personal way, perhaps by supporting a family member through illness. Others have shown compassion to strangers by selecting charities such as those which support the homeless. Pupils have considered how they could support their nominated charity, with ideas including bake sales, clothing collections, pet food banks and knitting hats for premature babies.Â
Crew Obama will now need to make decisions about where and how to lend their support. This will be no easy task as I am sure that all the nominated causes will be more than worthy.
Imogen using her ipad to present her nominated charity (SARI: Stand Against Racism and Inequality) to the group. An excellent proposal to support this charity by promoting its values around school. Well done, Imogen!
Year 9 will be going on fieldwork on 15th October as part of their ‘Welcome to the Machine’ expedition. We’ll be leaving school at 9:30AM and returning at 3:00PM, so this will not affect their drop off or pick up times, however, due to the pandemic, we ask that all students have guardian consent for them to attend.
We’ll be visiting Hatfield Moors, to collect species data and conduct scientific tests on the peatland during the day. We will be maintaining the bubbles, and wearing masks on the coaches to minimize risk of transmission, and we will be outside all day.
As part of the precautions, we ask that you fill in the following google forms, granting permission for students to attend the fieldwork on 15th October:
This outlines that if your child falls ill with covid symptoms on that day, they would need collecting from Hatfield Moors (about 40 minute drive from the school).
If you have any questions about the plans for the day or concerns, don’t hesitate to email me ([email protected]).
Grade of Post: National Living Wage
Hours of Work: Monday to Friday (term time only) 2:30am to 7:00am plus 10 days during school holidays
Responsible to: Trust Premises Officer and Head of School
Purpose of the Job:
To provide a high standard of cleaning throughout their work.
Objectives:
Dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, toilet cleaning, desk cleaning, etc
Replenishing toilet rolls and soaps when necessary
Cleaning internal windows and doors
Emptying waste bins and taking rubbish to the bin store
Operating floor cleaning machinery after training
Mix and dispose of all cleaning solutions appropriately
Notifying management of any repairs and maintenance issues
Following all health and safety regulations
Tackle heavy cleaning jobs upon request
Other Responsibilities:
Work well in a small team
Contribute to the overall ethos, work and aims of the school
Attend relevant meeting and participate in training and other professional development activities
Any other items requested by the Trust Premises Officer or Head of School
The last few months have been an exceptionally challenging time for both schools and health services. This has had an effect on students receiving their vaccinations and immunisations at school. As you will be aware the school age vaccination programme was suspended at the beginning of the outbreak leaving a large number of students outstanding vaccinations.
There is a plan of recovery to ensure that all these students are caught up by the end of August 2021. Please see the dates below that are scheduled in for the 20/21 academic year in order to deliver vaccinations to the eligible students at XP/XP East School.
YEAR 10 BOYS & GIRLS SLB/MEN-ACWY 26/01/2021
YEAR 9 BOYS & GIRLSÂ Â SLB/MEN-ACWY 26/01/2021
YEAR 8 BOYS & GIRLS 1STÂ DOSE HPV 06/05/2021
YEAR 9 BOYS & GIRLS 2NDÂ DOSE HPV 06/05/2021
Please Note: Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, NHS England have also specified that the seasonal flu programme this year will be extended to include Year 7 students. This will be the first time that Flu vaccinations will have been delivered in secondary schools. Flu vaccinations take place in December 2020. Further information and permission letters will be sent to all parents for consent nearer the date.
Crew Turing have made a start on the Duke of Edinburgh skills segment over the past couple of weeks. Each student is working towards their bronze award this year, comprising of a skill element, outdoor physical challenge as well as volunteer work. We’ve been completing the St John’s Ambulance first aid course, a skill that could make a difference to someone’s life in the future.
We started last week by learning about how to put people in the recovery position if they are unresponsive. Each crew member took it in turns in pairs to practice putting another crew members in the recovery position, while others gave kind, specific and helpful feedback. This week we’ve been working on what to do if someone is having an asthma attack.
Another highlight that I’d like to mention was the lovely art session I covered this week just passed. It was nice to see my crew members working hard towards their other subjects and improving their drawing skills. Above is Sami, Lewis, Reece and Lexi working on their graduated and blended colour work.
A couple of weeks back we collectively read this article in the Guardian, titled ‘At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here’s what I want to pass on‘. I was struck by the quality of reflection after reading Elliot Dallen’s life lessons, particularly this one on gratitude.
The importance of gratitude. During my worst moments – the shock of cancer diagnosis, the mental lows and debilitating symptoms of chemotherapy – it was difficult to picture any future moments of joy, closeness or love. Even so, at those times I found comfort in remembering what I have: an amazing family, the friends I’ve made and times I’ve shared with them, the privilege of the life I’ve had.
We did a whiparound on all the little things we were grateful for that we might not have had access to due to covid. Some spoke of missing hanging about with their friends at the weekend, missing gymnastics and other sporting training, or missing a hug from their grandparents. Over the past week, I’ve asked my crew to come up with some of the things they’re grateful for, here are some snippets:
Finally, I just want to congratulate my historically not-so-sporty crew on being announced as 2019-2020 Year 9 winners of the sporting competitions! Huge appreciations to Torran, Mollie and Lexi for putting on sport-related crew sessions for us to help improve stamina and skill prior to the matches. I have a feeling 2021 could be the year we don’t come last in every sport-related event….
It was great to get so many of the post 16 students together on Friday morning. We spent time going over the norms and expectations of our post 16 students and our understanding of these. As I’ve already mentioned in my previous blog students will be expected to be in school every day from 9.15 to 3.15pm unless this has been previously arranged with me.
We then went to the sports hall to have some fun together by playing a few team games which brought a lot of laughter and fun which has been much needed after the extremely tough few months we have had, it was good to see smiles on their faces!
Following this, year 13 students spent time with Mrs Rhodes who will be supporting students to complete their UCAS applications and give advice for moving on after XP16.
Mrs Rhodes will continue to deliver these sessions each Friday after our community meeting and students can also arrange to meet with Mrs Rhodes at other times during the week for additional support.
Next week while the year 13 students are working with Mrs Rhodes, the year 12 students will spend time with Mrs Hewitt who is leading the design and implementation of our ‘Ideas Cafe’. this will be an area that will be used by the trust where educators and learners can mingle and share their learning. Our XP16 students have been welcomed by the trust to not only share this area but to help design and create it alongside Mrs Hewitt. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this develops.
I am also delighted to tell you that moving forward I will be personally looking after the pastoral care of all our XP16 students and will be in touch with all parents & carers over the next week or two. In the mean time if you have any questions you would like to ask me, please either phone the school or email me at [email protected]
If you have lost one of these items in school, you need to claim it from the reception at East by Friday 2nd October. Any unclaimed items will be taken to charity.
For the last two weeks we have been looking closely at diversity in crew, resulting in some fantastic and really mature discussion. We have looked at what diversity is, what ways people are different and why we should embrace these differences. This creates a culture at XP that is like no other!
I would like to thank a few crew members individually – Tammy, Alyssa, Brodie and Riley – for sharing some really personal and difficult things in crew, which I think brought us all closer together and really consolidated our bond. We have each other’s back in crew Ibbotson NO MATTER WHAT and that is evident from the courage and compassion shown in these sessions. We understand that whilst we may not all play in the playground together, WE ARE CREW, and that’s what matters.
It’s an honour to work with such wonderful young people.Â
We have also been working on memory techniques in crew last week. We played some memory games and tried to figure out the best way we remember information as individuals. You can see Alex, Cam and Ben in the picture trying very hard to remember all the items they were shown (I promised the winner a sweet!). It was so much fun and very insightful for us to figure out which way worked best for us, hopefully to help us in our sessions!
