XP East

Sharing our Stories: 17/11/2023

17th November 2023Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

Rail City

From Market Town to Railway City – The Railway Journey that Helped to Shape Doncaster.

This is an updated collection of all the beautiful work created over the last few years by students across the XP Trust schools, inspired by the centenary of the Flying Scotsman and the railway heritage of Doncaster.

This book has given us an opportunity to update the original content of the many rail expeditions, with quotes from experts and our community about the importance of railways, the steam engines built here and the ongoing rail-related business here that will help shape the future of rail.

Published to coincide with a centenary celebration visit from the Flying Scotsman, we humbly hope that this book, created by our students and a new generation of rail enthusiasts, will become part of our railway story.

GET YOUR COPY OF ‘RAIL CITY’ HERE!

Norton Infants march for Askern CRY Foodbank

We’ve got Vacancies at XP Trust!

Visit xptrust.org/vacancies to find out more and apply to #JoinOurCrew

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

C25 Presentation Evening

17th November 2023Angella Parker

C25-Presentation-Awards-1 Download

We were delighted to have C25 back in school yesterday for one final celebration of their achievements as they were awarded their GCSE Certificates.

We had the absolute honour of handing out some special awards which recognised where students had gone above and beyond expectations. These are listed in the presentation above. A massive congratulations to you all.

C25 – we are proud of everything you achieved with us and everything you are continuing to achieve. It was absolutely fantastic to catch up with you all; we couldn’t be more proud 🙂

If you were unable to attend to attend yesterday’s presentation, please contact the school office to arrange a time to collect your certificates.

The C25 Team x

World Diabetes Day 2023

16th November 2023Web Blogger

On Tuesday 14th November, staff and students at XP East helped to raise awareness of World Diabetes Day with the #nailingdiabetes campaign. World Diabetes Day is celebrated by the charitable organisation Diabetes UK – this year marks 100 years since the discovery of insulin, which has gone on to save millions of lives around the world.

Lots of staff and students agreed to have their nails painted blue to raise awareness of diabetes, to generate conversations about diabetes, and to let our family, friends and peers with diabetes know that we are here for them.

Thank you to everyone who got involved! For more information about diabetes, or if you would like to donate, please visit diabetes.org.uk.

C30 Year 7: Hearing the stories of mining

14th November 2023B Batty

This last couple of weeks have been really busy in Humanities. Students have had the opportunity to hear a range of perspectives on mining. Just before half term Professor Natalie from Reading University came into school to talk to the students about the history of the 1984-85 Miners Strike as well as her role at Reading University. It was lovely to see and hear Year 7 working hard and getting smart throughout the session.

This week students had the opportunity to listen to miners sharing their stories. A big thank you to Miss Cunningham for organising these visits as well as to all our miners who brought in artefacts and images that really gave us insight into what their jobs involved. We learnt that each miner would have a specific number and handed in ‘checks’ before going underground. As well as handling davy lamps, gas masks and a piece of coal that was so big it could have kept a fire burning for over 3 hours!

This week we begin our work on our biography writing and song lyrics inspired by the miner’s stories.

Finally, just a reminder of a date for your diaries:

Tuesday 12th December is the XP Year 7 Presentation of Learning

Wednesday 13th December is the XP East Year 7 Presentation of Learning

Christmas Jumper Day – Thursday 7th December

13th November 2023Miss Jones

I know it’s November – but I wanted to let you know so you have the time to get organised (and buy a Christmas jumper if you wanted to)

XP & XPE will be celebrating Christmas Jumper Day on Thursday 7th December and asking pupils to bring in a donation that will go to the charity ‘Save the Children’

Christmas dinner will also be served at both schools on this day.

Thanks

Miss Jones

Year 11 (C26)’s SLC Window!

13th November 2023Melissa Cocliff

Student Led Conferences are vital to our work. They put our students in charge of sharing information about their academic progress with their families. In the words of expeditionary learning guru Ron Berger, “Student Led Conferences require and empower students to take the lead role in communicating their learning” – in other words, our students know they have to be responsible for their learning and progress, and they must be able to explain to their families where they are at, and where they are heading!

As per our Y11 calendar, our Y11 SLC window opens from next week (20th November 2023) and runs for two weeks. This window follows the marking and feedback of mock exams, and so all students will own their data and know where they are currently at. Year 11 will start to prepare for these SLCs from tomorrow morning.

Students will reflect on their mock grades and predicted grades in these upcoming Student Led Conferences. The timing of the SLC will allow students to consider any personal pledges that they need to make in advance of the next round of mock exams, which take place in February.

Please keep an eye out for available slots from Crew Leaders, which will be sent out this week. This may be done via Sign Up Genius – Slots will be available both after school and within school hours.

Best,

Miss Cocliff

Year 11 Mock Exam Results

13th November 2023Mr M Voltaire

Dear Families of students in Year 11,

Now that students have sat their first round of mock exams this year, their exams have been marked, moderated and have now been graded. Students will receive their mock grades during Crew time tomorrow morning. Students will also receive a set of predicted GCSE grades for the real exams which take place in the spring. Whilst these predictions are informed by the mock exams, they are also based on other assessments of student work and their current Habits of Work and Learning grades.

Students will reflect on their mock grades and predicted grades in the upcoming Student Led Conferences which will commence from next week. Your child’s Crew Leader will be in touch this week to book in a day and time for their student led conference. The timing of the SLC will allow students to consider any personal pledges that they need to make in advance of the next round of mock exams which takes place in February. More information on the February mock exams will follow closer to the time, but again this will be an opportunity for teaching staff and students to gauge their progress, revise predictions and look at other areas of support before the final exams.

There are a small number of students who may have been absent for some of the mock exams and as such, there might not be a grade provided on their grade card that they receive. These students will have the opportunity to sit missed exams in a formal setting this week and will have their exams marked and grades reported back to them.

If you have any questions in the meantime about any of the above, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance.

Best wishes,

Mr Voltaire and the Year 11 Team

E27 Viking Festival

13th November 2023Web Blogger

Save the Date! E27 are delighted to invite you to a Celebration of Learning as the conclusion to their expedition ‘Raiders and Invaders’. The celebration will take place at XP East on Thursday 14th December from 5:30pm. We’d love to see you there!

C29 Fieldwork – International Slavery Museum

13th November 2023Web Blogger

As part of their ‘Being Human’ expedition, Year 8 students will be travelling to Liverpool to the International Slavery Museum on 16/11/23 XP School and 23/11/23 XP East. Students will take part in workshops led by the museum staff and get to absorb themselves within the stories from the transatlantic slave trade.

We will be leaving Doncaster at 8:00am prompt so students will need to meet on their school’s stairs at 7:40am. They will require a packed lunch (free school meal students will be provided with a packed lunch if they require one) and we will be aiming to leave Liverpool to return home at 2:30pm. Our predicted arrival time back at school will be 5:00pm traffic dependent. The website will be updated on the day with our ETA if it is to be any different.

X29 Admiral & Skipper – 16/11/23

E29 Explorer & Pioneer – 23/11/23

This is a fundamental part of the expedition and it is expected that students attend this fieldwork in order to provide them with the relevant experience and knowledge to complete the Presentation of Learning at the end of this term.

For any further information please contact Harriet Woodward ([email protected]) as fieldwork lead.

Sharing our Stories: 10/11/2023

10th November 2023Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

Flying Scotsman Centenary

Students from XP Doncaster were very lucky to be able to welcome Flying Scotsman home today as guests of Doncaster Council. They had the opportunity to see this iconic engine up close and meet so many people who have made this special visit happen.

They were also able to hand copies of the newly published book ‘Rail CIty’ to those who had so kindly contributed to it … but more on that next week!

Final Product Preview: Beautiful Sewing at Norton Juniors!

XP Gateshead: Unheard voices of WWI

Last year, Y8 at XPG recorded a radio broadcast of unheard voices from WWI. They did this to honour the sacrifices of those who are sometimes forgotten when we remember the victims of WWI.

We are proud to share that this broadcast will be played on Memory Lane Radio on Saturday 11th November at 11am (their Armistice day slot!) Reuben visited the studio with Mrs Downes and was interviewed about the project. We will share a link to this interview in the coming days.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow to hear this beautiful work on the radio!