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We’ve been analysing and discussing our DD3 (data drop) grades and, whilst I’m pleased with Crew’s progress, there have been a few slight drops in grades which unfortunately will see us slipping down the HOWLs league table.
Having said that, I’d just like to take a moment to celebrate Bryn’s progress. It’s fair to say that he didn’t display the best learning behaviours at the beginning of the year, and this was reflected in DD2’s habits of work and learning grades.
This was discussed during his last SLC and, since then, we’ve been having regular check-ins to make sure he has been working hard, getting smart and being kind in all lessons.
Just take a look at the difference between DD2 and DD3 (in bold):
| HUMS | STEAM | MATHS | |||||||
| Work Hard | Get Smart | Be Kind | Work Hard | Get Smart | Be Kind | Work Hard | Get Smart | Be Kind | |
| DD2 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| DD3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
I’m sure you’ll agree that Bryn’s improvement in his HOWLs are outstanding. Jaw dropping, in fact!
He knows that he still has to put more effort in towards working hard and getting smart, particularly in relation to extended study and he discussed this during his SLC.
Crew would like to say a massive “Well Done” to Bryn for responding to feedback after his last SLC and DD2, getting his head down and working exceptionally hard. His class members tell me that he has been showing perseverance and resilience in all classes, particularly in Maths. I’d also like to thank his teaching staff, especially Mr Ryder, for always pushing him, supporting him and making Bryn realise his own potential.
Keep it up, Bryn. You’re absolutely flying into Year 9!
But don’t forget to do your homework 😉
Crew Mandela have been investigating their habits of work and learning this week. This is to fully understand the ‘why’ behind the grades from teachers and understand how they can improve. Students have really taken ownership in the crew to investigate their own HOWLS. There has been a major increase in the crew average for Be Kind that we were especially proud of as a crew. As the sign reads outside the school front gates…
Above all, is compassion
I stumbled upon another piece of XP East magic this week when I walked past Crew Shackleton’s classroom yesterday morning (which was later replicated in 8 Churchill).
As boring as it may initially seem, students were talking about and indeed engaging with a spreadsheet on the classroom TV that revealed their assessment and HOWLs data (as collated by staff in data drop 3.) Having worked in 5 schools, I’m convinced that millions of pounds, and squillions of working hours are wasted across educational establishments in the UK. This is generally what happens concerning such matters:
1. Teachers spend hours marking assessments
2. Teacher spends time inputting said data into a system
3. A senior member of staff makes graphs from said data
4. Lots of meetings take place discussing said graphs of data between adults
5. Students don’t see the graphs (if they did they wouldn’t understand them – like most of the staff)
6. Students might see them in a report to parents (that rarely makes sense)
7. Students don’t *really* engage with the data
8. Steps 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 keep happening
9. Millions of pounds, and squillions of working hours are wasted.
At our school, the students interrogate the data. They have conversations in Academic Crew (with their fellow students and Crew leader) to evaluate their progress. Students have conversations with teachers when they respectfully disagree about drops in their HOWLs data (Habits Of Work and Learning) – and this has resulted with teachers changing them! Students are even the ones that use them in discussions with parents in Student Led Conferences (SLCs).
Essentially, we make data drops an event.
Students look forward to them (and those that don’t, know that they need to work harder, get smarter, and be kinder).
Love it.
A big well done to Noah and Mackenzie for kicking off Crew Finch’s last Student Led Conferences of Year 8!
Both boys spoke articulately and with confidence about their learning and progress to their guests, as well as reflecting openly and honestly about the areas they need to improve on.
For example, Noah said that he needed to try harder to manage his distractions in class and stay 100% focused at all times.
Mackenzie acknowledged that he needs to get better at doing his homework. He has therefore pledged to stay for extended study at least once a week, either to complete his homework or just to extend his learning by using the resources on the Expedition website. He recognised that this would help him improve his grades moving forward into Year 9.
We’ll be checking-in weekly to make sure that both boys are sticking to these pledges!
I’m really looking forward to attending the rest of my Crews SLCs over the next couple of weeks. If any Crew Finch parents haven’t yet booked a slot, you can book here: Crew Finch SLC Booking (June 2019)
Our new crew of staff have returned from the outdoor section of their induction and are hard now hard at work in the immersion of their learning expedition slice.
Over the next few weeks they will be carrying out an abridged version of a learning expedition (a slice) to become familiar with our practices and protocols. Each day they will carry out studies and do work around the case studies and guiding question which will be revealed later today.
Yesterday saw them complete a silent conversation protocol to aid with a debrief of the previous week. They also kicked off their slice with a BBK (building background knowledge) protocol around the question “Why do we need to move towards more sustainable living?”.
Staff read challenging texts on the state of nature in the UK with reference to issues less commonly discussed such as soil quality, land degradation and the declining trend in genetic variation and biodiversity.
Today staff will carry out fieldwork to the local Gurdwara to close their immersion, at which point the guiding question, learning targets and case studies for their slice will be revealed.
Each day, a new member of staff will introduce themselves with a post which also chronicles their learning from the day.
This afternoon three members of Crew Young delivered their final Student-Led Conference of the current academic year. Isabel, Ella and Aaron shared their learning and progress with their guests, and they found the process to be academically rigorous as they were at times challenged to evidence their assertions. All three were a credit to their parents and have set the standard for others to follow. Well done Isabel, Ella and Aaron
Next week, E25 will be taking part in fieldwork linked to our current expedition, ‘Three Cheers for Trees!’
Students will be heading to a location not too far away on the following dates:
7Pioneer: Tuesday 2nd July
7Explorer: Friday 5th July
Fieldwork will take part during the normal school day with students travelling on our school minibuses.
Students will require a packed lunch, appropriate footwear and clothing as we will be outside for the day whatever the weather!
Fingers crossed, if the sun is shining, please ensure students bring plenty to drink (no fizzy drinks or glass bottles) and suncream.
So, today in HUMAN, 7Explorer have been deepening their knowledge and understanding about the Amazon Rainforest and the flora and fauna found within each layer. Then, along with their senses, they have created a piece of descriptive writing, capturing what their journey might be like as they travel from the forest floor to the emergent layer.
The quality of students’ writing was excellent! Look at some of the sentences students identified as having the ‘WOW’ factor.
Ruby:
‘All of a sudden, the cool rays of exhausted sunlight penetrated the vibrant, green, detailed foliage and stroked my skin.’
Billy:
‘The orchids stand out in the rainforest, adding a florescent and vibrant aspect to this colourful creation.’
Callum:
‘Stridulating crickets fill the rainforest with their loud song which stretches deep into the Amazon’.
Students then went on to critique each others’ work, commenting on ‘What Went Well’ and ‘Even Better If…’ Students were also eager to grade their work.
Take a look at the focus of Marshall, Sami and Ruben as they read each others’ work, write their critique and then share out. Absolutely wonderful!
Following study of the near future tense to conclude their work on pastimes last week, our E25 Spanish students considered how, when and why adjectives change their spellings according to gender of nouns in their sessions this week. It can prove to be a challenging concept for language learners to grasp, but core grammatical rules such as this are tested with academic rigour at GCSE level.
I am delighted with how our younger students are able to recognise and articulate terms such as cognates, adjectival agreements and feminine nouns, whilst observing the correct word order in a foreign language……in truth they are beginning to think in Spanish!
