Reading in MI

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

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

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? 

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. 

Sharing our Stories 19/12/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust for the last time in 2024! To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.

Top of the Blogs

Our Wonderful Christmas Concert @ Norton Infants

Christmas @ Green Top

Christmas Cards and Calendars @ Plover

Helping in the forest and having fun! @ Carcroft School

A Whole New World @ XP

To Infinity and Beyond @ Norton Juniors

Another Brick In The Wall @ XP Gateshead

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!