Sharing our Stories: 07/06/2024

7th June 2024Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

Year 10 Band ‘LOOM’ @ the Doncaster Festival of Colour

On the last Friday before half term, students from XP Doncaster performed their original composition ‘Like A Storm’ in the magnificent ‘Luminarium’ at Right Up Our Street’s Doncaster Festival of Colour.

As part of ‘LOOL’ music sessions, Year 10 students have worked really hard to write this piece of music with Skinny Pelembe and Higher Rhythm as part of the Noise Collective project.

We are really proud of what they have achieved over the last few months – they’ve created beautiful work and developed a true sense of Crew in music.

There is No Planet B – Product Curation in Carcroft Community

Beautiful work from LKS2s most recent Expedition ‘There Is No Planet B’ has been curated on three signs in Carcroft! Their guiding question was ‘How can we protect our wonderful world?’.

Their learning focussed on the climate emergency and the impact that humanity is having on the environment, as well as what can be done to prevent further damage and protect the planet. The curated signs they have created not only celebrate the beautiful work they have done during the Expedition, but also make a stand about a persistent issue with local fly tipping.

Students have created helpful guides on recycling as an alternative to tipping and how this can benefit the community as a whole.

Friends of Norton Campus Football!

Friends of Norton Campus Association organised a community football match – parents versus teachers at Askern Miner’s Welfare Ground. Teachers were joined by some of Doncaster Rovers coaches and staff from Green Top – a real crew effort. The match was a tight game with both teams really wanting the win but at the final whistle it was the teachers that took home the trophy!

Friends of Norton Campus organised food, face painting and activities for the children – we even had a special visit from Donny Dog! We were supported with over two hundred members of the local community resulting in a really fantastic event.

Student Showcase – 4th July 2024

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Y5 parents please find attached an event you can attend to find out more about XP and XP East.

Please note this is not for Y6 students who have already been allocated their school. 

You can book your place here.

We’re looking for an outstanding Learning Coach (Teaching Assistant and HLTA) and Crew Leader at XP Gateshead!

Find out more here and apply to #JoinOurCrew

Top of the Blogs

Beautiful Work from Elize, Lyra and Leo @ XP Gateshead

Brilliant Bakers @ Norton Infants

D-Day @ Green Top

Pride of Plover @ Plover

Grammar in MI @ Carcroft School

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Beautiful work from Eliza, Lyra and Leo

By Martin Said7th June 2024

All three students have been chosen to be published in a Young Writers Anthology with their short stories on the theme of ‘Mission:Catastrophe’.

This was a national competition, and all three of our entries for the school were chosen to be published. It is of note that Eliza, Lyra and Leo can now all say they are published authors…twice!

Congratulations on such a fantastic achievement. We’d love to see more students entering in the next competition which has a poetry focus. More details from Miss Tatters soon!

G28 Presentation of Learning

By Rebecca Jones5th June 2024

On Thursday 18th July at 6.00pm a video will be shared for G28’s presentation of learning. This video will have the audio of the student’s descriptive writing over images of beautiful work they have done as part of 9.3 Hold Back the River. This link will go live on the website which will allow people to comment as they are watching.

We recognise the commitment G28 parents have shown this year by coming into school on numerous occasions to support their child’s learning which has contributed to our decision to have G28’s final presentation of learning as a video.

We can’t wait to see you in the comments!

 

 

Crew Stanton football tournament for Tiny Lives

By Emmy Tatters3rd June 2024

On Thursday 13th June, to help kick off the men’s 2024 Euros, Crew Stanton are hosting a football tournament at school.

The first match will kickoff at 3:45 so students will stay at school to get ready for the match.

Everyone must have shin pads. Y7 and 8 will be on the MUGA, Y9 have the option to wear studs as they will be on the grass.

There will be a tournament for every year group and every Crew will play 3 matches (dependent on sign-up) and by the end there will be 1 winner per year group, with the winners getting a trophy.

We will have a barbecue as well as a tuck shop selling sweets and drinks. There is space for  5-8 people per crew to sign up and play, so if your child wants to play for their crew team, it will be £1.50 which will go towards our crew charity Tiny Lives.

Student supporters, parents and siblings can come and watch for £1 per person.

Thanks for your support,

Crew Stanton



G31 Families – Ullswater Outward Bound Participant Form

By Martin Said24th May 2024

Thanks to all of the G31 families that attended our information evening yesterday. The slides from the evening can be found here.

Ullswater Outwards Bound – For all G31 students

Our new Year 7 students’ Outward Bound adventure begins on Tuesday 27th August. Students need to be arrive at school between 8.00am and 8.25am. The coach will depart later that morning.

Participant Form

We need all parents to complete a Participant Information Form by following the link below. The form must be submitted by Monday, July 3rd, 2023.

Outward Bound Participant Form – Click here

– It should take around 20-45 minutes to complete and you will need to register an account to begin. You can use existing Microsoft, Google or Facebook accounts to login if you choose.
– You can find instructions, a video walkthrough and troubleshooting help here: How to complete the Participant Information Form
– The form is only supported on Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox browsers.
– Remember to enter the information for the person who will be attending the course.

Returnable Deposit

Students must bring a £10 deposit with them on the morning which will be handed back to them at the end of their adventure if there is no loss or damage to equipment. This is an important part of the process for the week, and teaches the students about join responsibility as a Crew.

Medication

Any medication for students must be in the original box, clearly labelled with your child’s name and details of regularity of administration and dose. This includes:

  • Inhalers
  • Epipens
  • Travel sickness pills
  • Painkillers
  • Antihistamines

Please get in contact with [email protected] if your child will be bringing medication and we can provide you with a self-administration or permission to administer form.

Kit List

Specialist equipment such as walking boots, tents, sleeping bags, hiking rucksacks and waterproofs will be provided by the centre.

The kit list for students is listed below. Please ensure that your child has all of these items.

If you are having problems sourcing these please get in touch with our office via [email protected] . Older clothes are far better for the week as they will get wet and or muddy.

  • 1 large bag or suitcase to take kit on the coach
  • 2 bin bags –  to store wet and dirty clothes
  • 1 pair of trainers for getting wet – these trainers will definitely get wet so it is important that you have a second pair.
  • A second pair of trainers to stay dry for day to day wear – these are likely to get muddy so preferably not new.
  • 3 sweatshirts, jumpers, hoodies or fleeces – Fleeces are ideal as they dry quickly but any of the other items are a good substitute. You should include at least one warmer fleece for your expedition.
  • 3 pairs of trousers – Lightweight trousers (not denim) such as walking trousers, leggings or tracksuit bottoms.
  • 3 T-shirts – Aim for tops that cover shoulders from the sun.
  • 1 long-sleeved base layer/top 
  • 1 pair of shorts – Not denim
  • 1 pair of nightwear/pyjamas
  • 1 set of casual clothes for around the centre
  • 7 sets of underwear including socks – This is a minimum number. Trainer socks aren’t recommended as they may cause blisters.
  • At least 2 pairs of thick walking socks
  • Sunhat, sunglasses, suncream – don’t bring expensive sunglasses, suncream needs to be at least factor 30.
  • 1 set of warm hat and gloves
  • At least 1 towel – Quick drying microfibre towels are great. You will need a towel for showering and on activities, so bring at least one.
  • Watch with alarm if possible
  • 1 set of swimwear plus t-shirt and shorts for use in water
  • Toiletries – including soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, blister kit, plasters, insect repellent, lip salve, hand sanitiser, wet wipes, talcum powder (for your feet), etc.
  • 1 pair of flip slops or sandals – optional

G28 – KS4 Pathways

By Martin Said24th May 2024

Since we met with G28 families for the information evening earlier this term, students have had a series of meetings with teachers of the courses that are part of our KS4 offer.

The slides below have details of all of the courses being offered, how students will be assessed and where courses could lead.

Some important notes:

  • Our CORE OFFER is for all students and we design our expeditions around this offer.
      • All students study Art & Design with some on a fine art pathway, and some on a photography pathway.

 

  • The COMMUNICATION strand is taught in classes of roughly 25 for three hours per week.
      • All students study one subject from this strand, or will have additional English / Maths instruction in smaller groups.

 

  • The LOOL (Leading our own learning) strand is taught in smaller classes for two hours per week with additional directed independent study.
      • All students study one subject from this strand, or will have additional English / Maths instruction in smaller groups.

 

Following the half-term break we will have meetings in school with families to finalise which pathways individual students will take at KS4.

Please discuss these pathways with your children and let us know your initial thoughts as a family be completing this Google Form.

We are aiming to finalise decisions on pathways by 20th June.

 

You can open up these slides in a separate window by clicking here.

Sharing our Stories: 24/05/2024

24th May 2024Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

https://youtu.be/tTDxR5AR1rc

Chance to Dance – Royal Ballet at XP

We were delighted to be able to welcome the Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet programme ‘Chance to Dance‘ to XPE last weekend. Over two days the tech teams and over 100 pupils from five Primary Schools across Doncaster – including our own Norton Junior School –  rehearsed and then performed a specially choreographed piece based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

https://youtu.be/zxPx-RVnqx4

Continue reading →

Beautiful work from Drew

By Martin Said23rd May 2024

Drew was awarded the players’ player of the year for his club Hebburn. This is a testament to quality of Drew’s game as sometimes defenders do not get the same level of recognition for the work they do in a team. The feedback from Drew’s teammates is that without Drew this year they most likely would have lost more games that were marginal.
Well done Drew! It’s great to see you being recognised by your peers.

G28 GCSE Poetry Anthology

By Emmy Tatters22nd May 2024

G28 started their GCSE English Literature course today by annotating the poem Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes. They will be exploring 5 of the nature poems from their poetry anthology within the context of their current expedition ‘How does water shape our world?’

They’ve made a great start and have attached some examples of their beautiful work below. Whilst working on this, I showed the students a poetry anthology revision guide that is useful. This is NOT a necessity and certainly is not needed now but some students were keen to get a copy and asked that I share the link via the website. So you can buy it on Amazon here but just to reiterate, this is not compulsory or a necessity it would simply support students’ revision of the poems.

If you are looking to support your child further with this, I also suggested the pens with 4 colours and a highlighter with 3-4 colours too (to support with annotations.) Again, we do have different coloured pens and highlighters in school so this is not a necessity but something that would be useful if you wanted to purchase for your child.