X28 Crew Darling (EWI) What do our HOWLS really mean to us?

During crew time, Crew Darling (EWI) have been looking at what our HOWLS really mean to us! Crew split into three groups, focusing on working hard, getting smart and being kind.. this was then followed with a fantastic presentation to the rest of crew, sharing their thoughts and ideas about HOWLS and how they can be the best version of themselves going forward!

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.

ETCH A CELL RESEARCH PROJECT

We need our student to help with important medical research!

In this second challenge of the new Year 9 learning expedition: Here Comes the Sun, mitochondria research scientists in London need our students’ help.

Nearly every cell in our body contains hundreds to thousands of mitochondria. These tiny structures are incredibly important. They are often referred to as the ‘powerhouses’ of the cell. This is because they convert the fat, protein and sugar from the food we eat into the energy we need to survive.

We couldn’t live without mitochondria, and if they do not work properly it causes very serious problems.

Students’ job is to identify mitochondria in images of cells at a very high level of magnification.

Volunteers like our students’ work will eventually train AI computers to help analyse new data even faster. This will help the scientists to do their research more quickly and develop new drugs.

More details can be found on Google Classroom or on the immersion section of our expedition website.

 

THIS WORK CAN ALSO COUNT TOWARDS DofE Volunteering during lockdown too!

Our new Year 9 STEAM expedition is called ‘Here Comes The Sun’. The website for the expedition is live now.

This afternoon we kicked off STEAM immersion week in Year 9 with a huge Google Hangouts Meet.

The meeting was attended by over 60 students from both XP and XP East who met to learn about the challenges we have set for their immersion this week.

One of the main things that we want students to get out of this week, and the whole of this term’s Year 9 STEAM expedition is an appreciation of nature.

 

CHALLENGE 1 – BIRDING

We have asked students to spend at least 30 minutes spotting birds. We have shared a guide and record sheet with them in Google Classroom. Staff have been having a go this week and spoke to the students about how lovely it was to spend time out enjoying nature.

We would love to see lots of photos from students of any birds that they see or just general shots inspired by nature. We are also determined to beat XP East with the number of birds that we spot!

In our meeting we had a massive game of quizlet live to compete with other in identifying 20 of the most common garden birds.

Spoiler alert: Penguins won! 🐧 🏆

 

 

There are also some optional challenges that we would like for the students to try if they can:

OPTIONAL CHALLENGE 1 – BUG HOTEL

If you have a garden or patio space, it would be amazing if students could gather resources to build a bug hotel, these can be as complex or simple as students want to make them.

Students don’t need to complete all of the work on it this week during immersion, as we will revisit it throughout the expedition. Again we would love to see photos of any that students build. Here is mine that I built with my son, we had a great time:

 

OPTIONAL CHALLENGE 2 – NEST BOX

If students have the resources and space they might want to build a small nest box.

This would be a great project to do with family members.

Again students would not need to complete it in this immersion week. It is something we will ask them to return to every week.

 

Details of all of the above are on Google Classroom.

 

There is another important challenge we will be sharing tomorrow, after which I will add a new blog post.

 

GOOGLE HANGOUT CLOSING CIRCLE – THURSDAY AT 3.00pm

It was wonderful to see so many students this afternoon to kick off the new expedition. Charlie even played us out of the meeting with what I believe the young people call ‘The Rave Music’.

On Thursday we will be gathering again on Google hangouts Meet at 3.00pm to see how students have been getting on with their challenges and share the photos that they send to us.

We will also share the guiding question and more exciting details about out new expedition then too.

Please do encourage your son or daughter to get outdoors and enjoy nature wherever possible, get them to send us photos and to join us in the hangout at the end of the week.

Thanks as always for your support.

Have a great week and enjoy VE Day with your family on Friday.

 

#wearecrew

This week is National Deaf Awareness Week. The theme for this year is acquired deafness. Doncaster Deaf Trust are getting behind the week and have recently opened up their Level 1 – British Sign Language to become a free course.

This is a fantastic skill to have, and a great way to learn something new whilst in lockdown for students and parents alike.

A staggering 11 million people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing, with hundreds of thousands of British Sign Language users.

Keep an eye out on Doncaster Deaf Trust’s social media throughout the day.

Last week our children of key workers learned how to greet someone in British Sign Language in their crew session.

X23 “Elementary” Presentation of Learning

We would like to invite you to the Presentation of Learning for X23.

Skipper’s POL will be held on the 27th March

Admiral’s POL will be held on the 28th March

The presentation will start at 17:30 at XP school. Students will be delivering a lecture about the structure of the periodic table, the atomic structure, atomic size and chemical reactions. This is a vital part of the expedition for students as it allows them to express their learning and understanding from the expedition.

VCERT: Creative Studies

X21 Have been working hard on their VCERT exams last week but they also have three units of work from year 10 that must be completed.  All students have something to work on still and the deadline for this is Wednesday 17th October.  Details and guidance are on the Smart portfolio.

If students still have unfinished work after the deadline, they will be invited to attend a catch up session during the holiday.

The nature of this qualification means that if any section of the portfolio is not passed then the whole VCERT cannot be passed.  Please ask students to show you the Creative Studies Tracker and encourage them to comment on it if they’ve recently completed work which hasn’t yet been graded.

C22 Fieldwork 19th February

Students in C22 will be going out on fieldwork to Conisbrough Castle on the 19th February in order to further their knowledge/learning about Norman castles. Admiral will leave at 9.30 and come back to school for 12.30, Skipper will leave at 12.30 and come back to school for about 3.30 (depending on traffic). Lunchtime arrangements will not be affected so students can take their lunches as normal. Students should wear warm clothing and comfortable shoes… it will be cold!

Thanks for you continued support!

We expect our students to work hard, get smart and to be kind. From time to time students do not meet our expectations and for some incidents, we isolate students from their peers. There are a number of reasons for doing this, these include:

  • to give the student time to reflect upon and take responsibility for their own actions
  • to give the student time to think about the consequences of their actions, and how they can begin to put this right
  • as a consequence to prevent the student taking similar inappropriate actions again in the future
  • to prevent them from being with their peers until they have demonstrated that they are ready to do so.

We are making some changes to our protocol for removing students from classes. Now that the school is growing in capacity, senior staff can work with students to help them reflect upon their actions and to get them back into sessions.

If a student is to be isolated from their peers, this is now our protocol:

  • Where possible parents will be contacted by phone, to let them know that their son or daughter will be isolated the following day. We will also explain the reasons for taking this action. If this is not possible we will leave a message by phone and/or email and try to contact again on the day of the isolation.
  • The student is to arrive no earlier than 9am, and no later than 9.30am for school the next day. They must report to main reception, rather than the student entrance.
  • Upon arrival, the student will be greeted by a member of staff. They will be asked to hand in any devices and given some time to reflect quietly upon their actions.
  • The student will then write a response to some questions which encourage them to be more mindful in the future and to begin to make pledges that will help them to take restorative steps to make amends.
  • The student will then complete some general work on English, Maths and Science appropriate to their current level of knowledge. This will be completed before their lunchtime.
  • The student will then have lunch, away from their peers.
  • Following their lunch, the student will complete work that their expedition teachers have set, so that they do not fall behind. This work should ideally be completed in the afternoon before leaving school. Any work that is not completed must be done that same evening so that the student can return to class the following day. We will inform parents if there is any outstanding work that must be completed.
  • The student will leave school at 4.30pm.
  • Students will be monitored by crew leaders who will contact parents to update on progress a week after the isolation period.