Sharing our Stories: 11/11/2022
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust this week!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit http://xptrust.org/stories
C25 Mock Exams
We’re looking forward to welcoming Y11 back from their work experience week and will be cracking straight on with our mock exam preparation!
Y11 will sit mock exams from 29th November until 14th December, as detailed in the timetable above.
Revision sessions will continue to run during lunchtime and after school and attendance at these is very much encouraged. We will also run a D6 session on Saturday 3rd December for those students who would like to get together in study groups, or just need a quiet space to revise.
As we move closer to final exams, we will be inviting our C25 parents/carers to a GCSE information evening in the next year – an email will be sent out with details soon.
Mrs Parker & Miss Cocliff
C25 (Y10) – WHAT A WEEK!
We had the pleasure of holding our Y10 Awesomeness community meeting this week – and what a week it’s been for Year 10!
It took us AGES to get through all of the appreciations, along with a bit of a ‘cultural reset’ focusing on apologies and stands this week, too. Some Y10s showed great courage and integrity!
Check out the masses of praise postcards below – a special shout out to this week’s crew superstars!
We’re proud of you, C26!
Miss Cocliff & Mrs Parker x
Dufton Crew
Hello, we are Dufton Crew! This is our first blog post and we want to share with you some stories from our first half term at XP East.
When we first joined XP, we were all nervous and shy but our experience at Outward Bound prepared us for the challenges and adventures we would face.
In our first week, we jumped straight into immersion, where we went on our first fieldwork trip to the National Coal Mining Museum. At this point, we did not know our Guiding Question or Expedition Title, so it came as a shock when we were plunged 240 feet underground in a rickety elevator. We faced anxieties and fear, due to the depth of the tunnels and confined space, but we were able to spend some time underground before we rapidly rose to the surface again.
This allowed us to get to know our classes, Explorer and Pioneer, that we would be spending the next 5 years together throughout our time at XP. Our expedition is called: From the Ground Up and our Guiding Question is: What does the community of Doncaster owe to mining? We have looked at the mining strike, women’s roles during the time and how Britain changed and developed as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
We have analysed the musical, Billy Elliot, to help us understand what it was like during the 1980’s. We also had an expert from Reading University who shared with us some stories of local women who protested and fought for the miners of Doncaster.
We are currently planning and preparing for our Presentation of Learning – but we can’t reveal to you the fun details that are about to unfold… just yet.
Stay tuned for more action!
C29 Experts Returning…
We are incredibly lucky to have the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band returning to XP on Thursday 17th November.
All of Year 7 from both XP & XP East are invited to attend on the XP Stairs from 7:30 – 8:30pm to watch the band rehearse. Parents / guardians of students are encouraged to attend with them and also watch the hour rehearsal.
It will be another great opportunity for our students to see these world class musicians as they prepare for their annual performance at the Sage concert hall in Gateshead.
Students will need to go home with a known and responsible adult at the end of the evening. Please ensure suitable transport has been organised.
Any questions please email Mr Robins ([email protected]).
C28 Working Hard and Getting Smart in HUMS
C28 have spent several HUMS lessons this week learning about the life of and impact of Malcolm X. We have compared his life and ideas to that of Martin Luther King. Students are really grappling with the complexity of Malcolm X’s ‘Ballot or Bullet’ speech. They have really developed their analysis skills, pulling meaning from the text and considering how and why a range of language techniques have been used. Great work on a very sensitive and complex topic. We are really starting to see what it means to be human!
We’re looking for Teachers at Norton Juniors and Carcroft!
Brain Food with Crew Obama
In ‘Wise Wednesday’ recently, Crew Obama learned about the importance of sleep. Most of us already knew that sleep helped to recharge our batteries and repair our bodies. However, we were surprised to find how vital sleep is in helping us to remember things and that it is a vital part of committing our learning to our long term memory. We were really pleased to have Ms Ivy with us, as she is an expert in psychology. Ms Ivy explained that our suggestion of having afternoon naps in school might not actually help us to remember what the teacher has taught us. Apparently, a short nap wouldn’t be long enough to allow our learning to be transferred out of our short term memories. Oh well, it was worth a try!
At the end of the session, we discussed our own experiences of the Circadian Rhythms. It was really interesting to hear Ms Ivy explain that the stress hormones produced by our body in response to playing Fifa before bed are the same those produced in response to danger, so it’s not a good idea to game right before trying to sleep. We also wondered if there could be a link between problems with short term memories and migraines.
After all that neuroscience, we were pleased to have the chance to feed our brains with a taste of South African culture. Ms Ivy very kindly brought a selection of snacks back from a recent trip home to Cape Town for us to try. This idea was born in an earlier crew session where we introduced Ms Ivy to a range of delicacies such as Refreshers, Sherbet DipDabs, Earl Grey tea and Parma Violets. It was great fun getting her to try some of our favourites for the first time, but we think she had the last laugh when she brought us some ostrich biltong and antelope sausages to try! The overall favourite was the ‘Peppermint Crisp’ which reminded us of a mint aero. It had a completely different texture in the middle; a bit like a boiled sweet!
Crew White-enjoying the great outdoors
Crew White took advantage of a break in the rain to read ‘Kit’s Wilderness’ outside. Our crew book links into our expedition ‘From the ground up.’ There is something really tranquil about being outdoors, we all enjoyed this experience and hope to get out again soon.
Mrs Fowler
