Hook week continues in MI

8th January 2025Stacey McClare

We are loving our new expedition! Today we moved onto understanding about digestion. First we built a human body in mini crews, discussing what we already know. We then moved onto labelling our organs and placing them on our human body.

We then explored the organs in more detail thinking about their role. We thought about which of the organs belong to our digestive system. We watched a video clip to build further background knowledge. We did lots of discussion around each organ thinking about its role and how it adds to the digestive process. We then demonstrated our learning in a mini crew activity. We used picture cards, word cards and explanation cards to match up all the different organs.

From here it got messy! We put the digestive process into practice using biscuits, a banana, water, orange juice and a pair of tights! We loved taking part in this!

We then started writing up our model of the digestive system and will continue to work on this tomorrow.

Marvellous Music

8th January 2025Nicola Robson

As part of our hook week activities we have been listening to different genres of music and reflecting on how the songs made us feel. From Taylor Swift and Jay-Z to Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra, there was something for everyone!!

Learning all about the number 1!

8th January 2025Sarah Mcglone

In Crew McGlone we have been looking at the number 1. We looked at what it looks like as a digit, we showed it on our fingers, we subitised, AND we investigated what it might look like on a 5 frame! We talked about the fact that it did not matter where the counter was placed on the 5 frame, as long as there was only 1 counter then it would show the number 1. We noticed that number 1 is always by itself! We worked with a partner to show the number 1 on a 5 frame and on our fingers.

We consolidated our learning by trying to find the correct cup that had only 1 counter underneath it. Miss McGlone tried to trick us by mixing the cups up but we all worked really hard to work out which cups had 1 counter underneath and which cups did not have 1 underneath. We knew if it was 1 because the counter was by itself!

Reading in MI

7th January 2025Stacey McClare

Our activate today really worked on our fluency and words per minute, something we are really working on this term.

The next part of our activate allowed us to explore a picture, we thought about what the character was doing, who she was, why she was doing what she was doing, what was happening and how she could be feeling! We were then introduced to the title of the story! We took part in a silent conversation using the lenses to answer questions. From here we explored the blurb which we all found very funny!! Again we worked on our fluency skills, taking part in both independent and partner reads. We then explored some of the language in the text and played four corners to assess our understanding. We can’t wait to start reading the story tomorrow 🙂

Hook week begins in MI

7th January 2025Stacey McClare

It has been wonderful to have Crew MI back in the classroom today and what a great start we have had! We have loved getting started with our hook week learning.

We started our learning by looking at the different types of teeth we have!We explored why we have teeth with lots of reading opportunities and lots of focus on our fluency and words per minute. We explored our mouths with a mirror where we looked at the different teeth we have. We labelled a diagram of the teeth then created some writing on the functions of the teeth.

We then moved onto setting up our teeth investigation where we will explore the impact different liquids have on our teeth.

We created our own question and hypothesis then thought about our variables. We listed all the equipment we would use then created our method.

We then explored the best ways to look after our teeth. We watched a video clip all about healthy teeth and visiting the dentist. We looked at how we should be brushing our teeth and even had a go at this! Finally we thought about all the foods and drinks for healthy teeth.

Family Learning

7th January 2025Nicola Robson

This afternoon we kicked off our spring term expedition with a great family learning session.

We used our art skills to produce some amazing pointillism fruit which will be displayed in our classrooms.

I wonder if you can guess what our new expedition is all about?

Could you help to inspire the next generation of XP and XP East? 

6th January 2025Geoff Hewitt

We are currently working to create a directory of experts for our upcoming Year 9 Passage Presentations and would appreciate your help! 

Passage Presentation is an opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and demonstrate their readiness to move onto the next phase of their education – GCSE.

Students share their high quality work to a panel of experts and their family through an oral presentation, increasing their accountability and character development demonstrating the skills and knowledge they have gained in Key Stage 3. 

As part of the presentation students provide insight into their future goals and aspirations and we would like to ensure an authentic expert for each of them at their presentation – this is where you come in! 

We are seeking support from any members of our community to become an expert panelist at a Passage Presentation, to listen to the presentation, ask questions and support in directing pathways. In order for this to be a success we request help from members of the public who are able to share their own experiences and advice in order to advance our students to the next level of formal schooling.

If you feel this is something you are interested in, please use this link to sign up to the directory. 

Presentations will take place week commencing 27th January 2025 for 3 weeks. You will receive an invite from the student you have been allocated nearer to the time. 

Should you have any further questions, please contact a member of our Key Stage 3 Team: 

Natalie Johnson- [email protected] (KS3 Lead) 

Emma Watson- [email protected] (Phase Lead XPE 8/9)

Chris Morrison- [email protected] (Phase Lead XP 8/9)

We appreciate your support in advance. 

SIGN UP HERE!