Crew White checking out for Christmas

15th December 2022Web Blogger

We can not believe that we have completed our first term here at XP East, in one way it feels like we were only boarding the bus for Aberdovey yesterday, but then in another way we feel so settled and like we have been here forever.

Between us as a crew we have collected 194 praise points and this week we have been reviewing our HoWL’s. After looking at our data we have made pledges for the spring term. Some examples are below:

I pledge to improve my Get Smart HoWL in Maths from a 3.0 to a 3.5 by the end of next term. I will do this by putting my hand up and asking more questions. This will help improve my AP by the end of next term- Lola Endicott

I pledge to improve my Work Hard in P.E from a 2.5 to a 3 by remembering my kit every week. I will do this by the end of next term – Elsie Wright

I pledge to improve my attendance to 97% by the end of next term – Arlo Hague

As a crew leader I have also made a pledge to visit my crew in their sessions more and look at their beautiful work- I’m sure they will remind me of this.

It’s safe to say we have crammed lots into this term, Aberdovey, the coal mining museum, Bletchley park and Billy Elliott performances just to name a few! We can not wait to share our POL with you in the new year.

Here are some of the things our crew have said are highlights/favourite moments from this term and some photos of what we have been up to.

Nicole: My highlight of this first term was learning about Billy Elliot and reading in the character/pretending to be them with Miss Buckely. Also exploding the quotes and phrases to learn more about the characters.

Kiera- My highlight from our first term was when a student in HUMS asked Mr tucker a bunch of questions about coal and it got to a point where he had to walk out of class because he found it so irritating but funny at the same time.

Lucas-My highlight was in Aberdovey when i got to know my roomies and neighbours properly whilst spending cherishable time with them. Im pretty sure everyone was happy with the people they were put in a room with.

Have a wonderful and restful break, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Crew White.

Christmas Crafts

14th December 2022Web Blogger

Yesterday, Crew Rashford and Crew Marx created some Christmas decorations! We had a lovely morning getting in the festive spirit!

Some of them fetched their creations home and others we put up on the school tree!

E27 Presentation of Learning

12th December 2022Web Blogger


Presentation of learning is being held at XP East tomorrow evening. We have a couple of special guests in attendance in the hope of raising awareness about the current housing crisis in the UK.

We have been studying how metaphorical and literal structures have huge impacts on our lives and we are excited to share with you our ideas.

We hope to see you all there – XP East, 4:30-5:30.

E28 Crew Moore Mindful Monday Crafting

5th December 2022Web Blogger

After our regular Mindful Monday check in crew Moore were set the challenge of working as a team to create banner of Christmas bunting. Each table was given just a craft pack and a set of instructions. The activity was time bound meaning they need to work quickly and communicate well. Both teams grappled with missing parts and elements falling off before achieving their goals. We ended with a quick clean up maintaining our leave no trace moto.

E27 Duke of Edinburgh

29th November 2022Web Blogger

Year 9 have started their D of E Bronze award. We started the term with a mission to complete a lap of lakeside in 45 minutes…we have since SMASHED that target. We now manage to complete a full lap during crew time. The kids have done so well that we allowed a visitor to join us last week in crew time walk…Meet Simba, Miss Cades puppy who accompanied us last week!

Now, because we can complete the walk so efficiently in crew time we are spending session one completing our first aid course! Last week we looked at how to respond in an emergency and practised putting each other in the recovery position! Huge thank you to V and Louie who helped us demonstrate with their unwilling models! Rest assured, E27 are now experts in emergencies!

Crew White

23rd November 2022Web Blogger

                                              Crew White blog 

Hello, we’re Elsie, Lola and Ryan, we are Crew White. 

Here we are being stewards of our community collecting litter from the school .

This is me Ryan, in XP outdoors I made a stick man, and this is a photo of my miners helmet I have done in art too.

 I like football. I am a sporty person.

This is me Lola, my fun fact is I play football for the school team and I also love art too! I have been doing some good work. This is a piece of work I’m proud of from HUMS where I show craftsmanship and quality.

This is me Elsie, a fun fact about me is I’m good at art. Here is a piece of work I’m proud of from HUMS where we identified key people from the miners strike.

Our crew star of the week is Nicole.  She works hard, gets smart, and she is always kind to Crew. Last week she represented our school in cross country and football. Our sporting legend.

Y8/Crew Malala Learn To Work Together!

7th September 2022Web Blogger

Crew Malala have been working on communication and team skills. We talked about how working together means listening to one another and learning how to communicate in a productive way. To practice these new skills, Crew Malala played the spider web game. Standing in a circle, one person had to hold onto the end of a ball of wool and throw the ball across the circle to another crew member. That person had to hold on to the wool and throw the ball to someone else, and so on, until everyone was holding onto the wool. This created a spider web in the middle of the circle. Crew Malala then had to work together to untangle the wool without letting go, with the final goal of standing in a straight line while still holding on to the wool. There was some frustration but by working together, giving clear instructions to each other and listening carefully, they finished the game in a straight line! Well done Crew Malala!

Mrs. Collinson & Mrs. Batty

XP East Laying down the Law!

23rd March 2022Web Blogger

What a fantastic two days students across XP and XP East have had!

On Tuesday, Citizenship students, who have been studying the role of the police, and their year group were involved in 3 seminars from Doncaster Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue. These included Road Safety, Gun and Knives and Exploitation. 


After a fantastic Tuesday, things only got more exciting here at XPE today…
Students listened to a talk regarding Dog Handling and were introduced to not one, but two real life police dogs! Isn’t Hudson wonderful?
If that wasn’t enough, students were given time to ask all their pressing questions in a Q&A session. Students also experienced all the equipment police officers are trained to use, including riot gear and operating police cars.
A fantastic two days had by all students and staff! #WeAreCrew

E28 Year 7 Presentation of Learning

26th November 2021XP East

Finally E28 are able to show off their great work to their families in a Presentation of Learning. This is an opportunity for the students to show off their work and learning from their current expedition From the Ground up! Something we are so excited to have back at XP and XP East.

The current expedition has focused on mining and students have been answering the guiding question “What does the community of Doncaster owe to mining?”, alongside showing their work, parents and carers will have the opportunity to hear the music students have created inspired by the Colliery bands of South Yorkshire and see the Artwork students have produced!

If your child is in E28 they will be hosting a Presentation of Learning on Thursday 9th December, starting at 16:00 and will finish by 17.00.

Students will be expected to stay at school at the end of the school day before the Presentation of Learning.

We ask that students bring a change of clothes and dress in smart clothes as it is a formal occasion. They may also want to bring a snack to eat before the start of the evening.

We will post a reminder closer to the event and we hope to see you all there!

Accelerated Reader

6th April 2018A Parker

 

We spend a lot of time reading here at XP. East: we dedicate at least one Crew session a week to our accelerated reader programme and comprehension testing, as well as 15 minutes at the beginning of morning session, and another 15 minutes after lunch.  We also expect students to read for 20-30 minutes at home.  We are seeing some good progress in Crew Parker as students improve their reading age, and have strategies in place for those who need some extra support.

I do hear quite a few of our children grumbling when asked to get their reading books out, so it’s important to remind them why it’s so important, and why we invest so much time into reading:

  • Reading helps to build our vocabulary and language skills
  • Reading helps improve focus and concentration
  • It stimulates our imagination, which consequently helps to develop our own creative writing skills
  • A good book will leave us wanting more, so that we go on to learn more!
  • Developing good reading habits now will help the students when they go to University and have to research things using resources other than the internet (no, Google doesn’t have all the answers!)

As an ex-Librarian (or maybe that should be once a Librarian, always a Librarian!) I can’t promote the benefits of reading for pleasure enough.  I don’t really care if it’s a physical book or an e-book; it’s the act of reading that counts.