Crew Earhart HOWLs Review

This morning Crew Earhart (albeit a smaller version) worked hard to reflect on their HOWLs and think about their pledges. I must say how impressed I was by students’ ability to look back on their HOWLs, along with their productivity in sessions, and be totally honest about how they need to improve. Well done Crew.

Crew Bronte – hasta la vista – not adios!

Today marks Year 11’s last official day at XP. Not quite the goodbye any of us envisaged, but over the last week I asked Crew to send me a memory from our time together. Here is what they said…

Katie – My favourite crew memory is when we all met for the first time and did all the great activities together in Wales and how we all grew from there.

Noah – the massive game of Jenga we all played in Year 9, those mystery liquids Joel brought in for the end of Year 8/9 and just the whole of Wales.

Lannie – Year 10 sports day is probably one of the best memories for me, all of the cheer and excitement of everyone was so overwhelming and memorable.

Mr Sprakes – definitely Duke of Edinburgh! Watching all of you arriving back on the second day of your Bronze practice in Year 9, soaking wet but smiling! This was the first time I felt part of Crew Bronte.

Mrs Sprakes – our second Outward Bound at Hatfield at the start of Year 8. We’ve never had much luck with the weather on our Outward Bounds, but that second day was ridiculously wet…and none of us, me included, had zipped up our tents! I can’t really repeat or re-enact some of the grumpy / angry / astounded words and faces that day!

Here are some blasts from the past!

   

 

Crew Bronte Hangout

Over the last two weeks some of Crew have been working hard on tasks ready for the exciting final product, a book called “How we Did XP”. I would like to appreciate Katie and Oliwia for completing ALL of the tasks for this, well done girls, it makes great reading too. A special shout out goes to Ally, who joined the hangout from the Czech Republic!

This week we did a movie – based quiz…it’s obvious who are the film buffs in Bronte. Well done to Noah and Alex for winning, with 14 out of 15 points – fantastic! Paige came second with a not – too – shabby 10 points. Jurassic Park!

     

Crew Bronte Hangout

Members of Crew Bronte have been working hard on Immersion tasks and Case Study 1 to add to their final product, a book called “How we Did XP”. Case Study 1, a reflection on five years of Crew, has produced some insightful comments so far: –

Oliwia “… in a way crew was good because it gave a chance for a small group of people from lots of different backgrounds and friends groups to join together and forced us to find a way to get along”

Katie “As a reflection of my time at XP I think it has taught me a lot of things, it’s taught me how to grow as a person but also how to work hard get smart and to be kind.”

We still found time to have fun and hold a quiz today though, Alex being the winner with  17 points, Noah in second place with 14 and Ben in third place with 13 points. I guess they’d all had their Weetabix / toast / bacon sandwich!

Come with your thinking caps again next week, we may have another round of Aphabetti Spaghetti!

Crew Bronte Hangout…

Last week saw the launch of the final expedition for X22 , ‘Once in a Lifetime”, which will culminate in X22’s first, and I must say very unique book, “How we Did XP”. This will reflect upon X22’s journey at XP, and comment on this unusual time in all of our lives.

Well done to Oliwia for completing the Immersions tasks, and being well on her way to the first writing task, a reflection of five years of Crew.

It’s not all work though, for the last two weeks we’ve checked in with a game of “alphabetti spaghetti”, last week naming fruit and vegetables that start with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending at Z. Joel was the supreme winner, with Katie in second place! This week, we chose animals as the challenge. Joel won again, with myself in second place. Have you ever heard of a Xolo? It’s a mexican hairless dog (the dog in Coco)…cute or one of a kind, what do you think?

 

 

Crew Bronte Next Steps Hangout

This afternoon we were joined by Mrs Stonier and Mrs ap Harri in our hangout, who gave us lots of important information about next steps…including a presentation, photos of the new area at XP16 and discussions around other choices at XP16. A reminder, if there are any questions about the slides, please email Mrs Stonier, Mrs ap Harri, or myself.

It’s still important to check in and have fun though, so our check in last week was “What’s your spirit animal?”. Here are a range of answers, and some reasons: –

Alex – gazelle / mountain goat (he has a low centre of gravity, is fast and seems to get everywhere!)

Katie – tiger (flashy coat and clothes)

Paige – cat (stealth – like, she can enter a room and you probably wouldn’t know)

Mr Sprakes – honey badger (nice to get to know, but don’t tick him off)

Joel – owl (wise and pensive)

Mrs Sprakes – lion (apparently I have a mane, no idea why anyone would think that!)

 

See you next week Crew Bronte!

 

 

Crew Bronte Hangout

It’s been fantastic to catch up with most of Crew Bronte over the last 2 weeks using Google Hangout. I was rather surprised to see how relaxed everyone looked, after the frustrating and unique set of circumstances that Year 11 find themselves in. A special shout out goes to Ally, who joined in from Prague, and Ben, who perhaps shockingly made and drank two cups of tea in the first 12 minutes! I want you all to know how proud Mr Sprakes and myself are of you, keep plugging away with the practice papers, and know that staff are here to support you. The climb is not over yet Crew!

X21 Spanish Support Sessions

Every Monday from 3.20 – 4.20 in X08 there will be a support session for any student wishing to attend, starting the first Monday back and running until Christmas. The sessions will focus on grammar and use of language, and each week’s content will be posted from now on using googleclassroom. During the first session we will revisit the present tense. All are welcome!

What a brilliant way to end a week! Crew Bronte, along with other crews from C22, set out on their first practice walk in preparation for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition later this year. Under the guidance of expedition supervisor Kate apHarri Bronte enjoyed a cold, muddy but fun-packed walk around Chatsworth Park. Crew learned how to orientate a map and how to use map symbols and grid references to work out location. In addition, Crew Bronte applied their knowledge of the Countryside Code to respect the environment they were walking in. On top of all they they got absolutely covered in mud!!!

Well done, Bronte!