Year 9 (X27) Skipper working hard in art

I wanted to share some of the beautiful work that 9 Skipper has been producing in their art sessions.

I am so impressed with the craftmanship and quality.

Year 9’s first expedition of the year is called ‘Another Brick in the wall’ which has the guiding question ‘How are our lives affected by structures?’

They have created their own expedition title pages:

They have been looking at the street artist Phlegm and reproducing their own work in his style as well as an artist research page.

As you can see – it’s looking great!

Crew Kahlo at the end of Year 9

As they are coming to the end of Year 9, crew has been reflecting on their year. When thinking about their journey throughout the year, here are some of their highlights.

They have been looking at their HoWLs and AP grades from the last data drop. They have then made pledges each week to focus on small changes they can make to try and improve. Crew holds each other to account during this process, discussing whether they think they have been successful in achieving their pledges.

They have finished their second expedition of the year called ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ by creating beautiful work. They looked at Islamic tiles and then used rotational symmetry to design their own patterns to paint with acrylic paint.

Here are some examples from Crew Kahlo:

 

Crew also chose their options for ‘Leading Our Own Learning’ that they will be studying next year. The crew has picked a range of options such as Engineering, Citizenship, Psychology, Further maths, ICT / Computing as well as some members of the crew decided to take up the opportunity to join the ‘pushing for 4’ group that will support them with Maths, English, and Science leading up to their exams.

They cant really believe that they are coming to the end of Year 9 and going into Year 10!

Crew Kahlo going into Year 9

What a busy first couple of weeks crew Kahlo has had in Year 9!

There’s never a dull moment at XP, especially at the beginning of term. We kicked off the new year with an outward bound trip where we went abseiling off a bridge (80ft!) and caving:

On our second day of Year 9, crew took part in a number of fun challenges (working as a crew) in the morning and then played the other Year 9 crews in a bench ball tournament. We ended the day with a community meeting.

On our third day of Year 9 we walked to Potteric Carr nature reserve and then did a ‘Solo’.

When we got back to school, crew prepared for their POL to explain what they had done that week and what they had learnt from it. They worked well as a team to present to their peers and parents.

As you can see – we don’t mess about! We start as we mean to go on here at XP.

Cant quite believe that crew Kahlo are in Year 9 already – bring it on!

 

X26 (Year 9): First week back reminder

Hi X26 – just thought I would add another blog post to remind you all what the plan is for your first week in Year 9 (I can’t believe you’re going to be Year 9’s!!)

Your first day back is Wednesday 1st September and you need to be in school at 8 am (this is because you all need to do a covid test before we set off). You will be out of school all day so you need to come prepared with the following:

  • Backpack
  • Packed lunch (this will be provided for students on FSM)
  • Bottle of water
  • Hiking boots (these should be in your backpack – come to school in your trainers
  • Waterproofs (trousers and a jacket)
  • Plastic carrier bag (to keep everything dry in your backpack if it rains)
  • Baselayer top (not cotton)
  • Midlayer top (not cotton)
  • Warm hat
  • Gloves
  • Sun hat
  • Hiking trousers (not cotton)
  • Hiking / thick socks (not cotton)
  • Wellies (or these can be hired on the day for £1)

(All of these items will be used again throughout Year 9 – not just for this week).

We are expected to be back at school between 4.30 pm and 5.00 pm if you need to organise a lift home or plan which bus to catch. 

On Thursday 2nd September you will be in school all day and need to be in for the normal time (8.20-8.30 for crew). You need to make sure you bring your usual school equipment with you (pen, pencil, ruler, and device). Make sure you wear sensible footwear as you will be doing some activities in the sports hall and outside. You will be able to have a school dinner if that’s what you usually do or bring your packed lunch with you.  

School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm. 

On Friday 3rd September you need to arrive at school at the normal time for crew (8.20-8.30am) but will be out of school in the morning. You need to bring the same things that you have been asked to bring on Wednesday (apart from wellies – you don’t need those). You also need to bring your equipment and device to use in the afternoon. 

You also need to bring a packed lunch and a bottle of water as we will be out at lunchtime (this will be provided for students on FSM)

School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm. 

I hope you have all had a lovely summer break and we will see you all next week!

GCSE Geography Fieldwork

Students in Year 9 and Year 10, who have chosen GCSE Geography as their common mission choice, will be going on fieldwork on 23rd June to Sheffield city centre.

As part of the exam specification requirements for their Paper 3 exam, students will be collecting primary data during the fieldwork (we will be observing Covid guidelines and maintaining the school bubbles where possible). During their lessons in school, they will be analysing, presenting, evaluating and drawing conclusions from the fieldwork to prepare them for this section of the exam.

The fieldwork is based on the theory learnt in the Urban Issues and Challenges section of the course and will be focusing on the level of success and impact of regeneration (or lack of it!) in different area’s of Sheffield’s CBD.

Students will need to arrive to school at the normal time and we will be back to school by 3:15. Students will need :

  • a packed lunch and a drink.
  • appropriate clothing for the weather that day as we will be outside all day. We will be walking roughly 5 miles around the centre so comfortable shoes are a must!
  • Any inhalers/epipens etc if needed – staff will have a first aid kit/spares just in case
  • a couple of pens Sheffield Travel Guide | Sheffield Tourism - KAYAK

Any questions please email me [email protected]

Y9 X25 Bubble Closure Timetable Update

As we have unfortunately had a positive Covid test in X25 Year 9 we will be moving to online learning from this afternoon (Tuesday 13th April). We have chosen this timetable as it reflects the online provision that was successful during our last period of distance learning. After speaking with students this morning we have adapted the timetable to mitigate the risks of screen fatigue. Therefore, the students will only do four out of the five sessions providing them with an extended lunch break. 

Please see the timetable below that outlines the times for each session. The teacher taking the session will send out the hangout link and post it on Google Classroom. We look forward to seeing all our students online this afternoon.  Thank you for your continued support. 

Link to Timetable.

 

Hi all,

Here is a rundown of some of the beautiful artwork that has been produced by our wonderful XP and XPE students during lockdown 3.0.

As a team, we have been blown away by the effort and resilience that our pupils are showing.

I hope you enjoy having a flick through their work as much as we have.

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Very special visitors to X25 this week

In our case study ‘Snakes on a plain’, we have been learning about the adders at Hatfield Moor and how they have been so successful by occupying a niche in nature as a cold climate snake. In the coming weeks we will look at the fire at Hatfield, most likely caused by careless human action, and how the coordinated response from the Local Authority, Natural England and the Fire Service worked tirelessly to protect this important natural wonder on our doorstep in Doncaster.

To deepen our studies, this week students in X25 welcomed experts from Sam’s Safaris into school. Zoe and Joy brought with them some even more special guests. We met a range of reptiles, amphibians and mammals so that students could learn more about how they are adapted to their environments, how they are dependent upon other species and the impact that humans are having on their ecosystems (both positive and negative).

Some of the brilliant insights we gained into adaptations included the Jacobson’s organ in snakes, and how they are able to ‘taste’ the air. We also learned how chinchillas have adapted to their cold environment by having 60 hairs sprout from each of their follicles compared to just one hair per follicle in humans (or none in the case of some of our more veteran teachers). The mountain kingsnake was a particular favourite, with its bright colours mimicking a venomous coral snake to ward off potential predators.

We also heard about how deforestation – often to clear land for palm oil farms – was having a devastating impact on geckos, and how insecticides were causing damage to microbial ecosystems in the soil.

On a more positive note, our experts described how conservation work was helping to protect species, and how young people are more engaged than ever before in helping to protect the wonders of nature on which we are all entirely dependent.

Our experts were knowledgeable and showed great care towards the animals, helping some students (and staff) to overcome their fears too.

Almost everyone fell in love with Scrabble the chinchilla. Mr Doyle said his favourite was the gerbil though; what’s that about?!?

X25 GCSE Spanish and Spanish+ Curriculum Plans

In Year 9 and beyond, and as in previous years, our X25 students will either continue to study Spanish to GCSE standard, and be entered for external examination at the end of their Year 11, or pursue a combination of supervised self-guided Spanish study and taught GCSE Citizenship, identified as “Spanish+” on their timetable. Either course will mean three hours of study per week and lead to a GCSE qualification. This follows our current curriculum model, and begins the process of personalisation of our provision for students that is then continued with choice and common mission entitlements.

We have now concluded a careful appraisal of your child’s achievements and attainment in Spanish so far, and are in a position to make a strong recommendation that they either join the GCSE Spanish group, or the Spanish+ group. You will shortly receive confirmation as to which of the two groups your child will be placed in, and Crew Leaders will be able to answer most questions that you might have.

In the event that you wish to discuss the recommendations further, or have any questions that Crew Leaders cannot answer, then please contact Mrs Sprakes in the first instance.

Beautiful work by our amazing pupils

I wanted to take this opportunity to to congratulate every single pupil at XP and XPE who has completed any of the home learning tasks over the last two weeks.

I commend your dedication to your education in this very strange time!

It has been an absolute pleasure to see your artwork and has really brought a smile to our faces. So thankyou for that.

I wanted to share some of the work that has been sent to us over the last two weeks – so it could make you smile too!

Week 1:

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Week 2:

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Carry on being creative, be safe and keep in touch (we love to see your work)

Thanks again from the expeditionary arts team (Miss Jones, Mr Jackson, Mrs Cross and Mr Robins).