I attended XP School’s Year 8 Celebration of Learning (COL) last week, and I must say that I was sincerely blown away by the quality of what I saw.
The title of their expedition was ‘Being Human’ and revolved around the guiding question ‘What does it mean to be Human?’ The following (taken from the expedition’s narrative) highlights what the expedition was about:
‘We studied four main case studies looking at how science, history and literature convey what makes a human.This involved a study of the human skeleton as well as investigating the history of segregation and the civil rights movement. The text Wonder written by R.J Palacio underpinned the learning, highlighting that what is on the outside does not reflect what is in the inside, that we are more than the sum total of our looks, that what makes us human is our understanding and acceptance of others for HOW they are, not HOW they look.’
The COL involved Y8 students demonstrating their learning via a piece of drama which was specifically based around key historical events within the civil rights movement. The acting was superb and the performance was clearly a Year 8 Crew achievement, as you could sense the collaboration and hard work that had gone into the production. Students also interpreted what it meant to be human via sculptures that they created, all of which will be laid beyond XP leaving a legacy in the community. This outward connection with the world is something that will influence our next expedition at XP East.
A moment that will stick with me was when Y8 students stepped forward to explain their own interpretation of what it meant to them to be human – great work Y8s and all involved!
We’re really excited about own first ever COL which will take place on Wednesday 20th December, at 5:30pm.
