To hook into our new expedition we tried different types of chocolate. The children showed courage by trying new things even though some were very nervous!
Chocolate Tasting
Expedition Hook
In Crew Colclough, we have participated in a chocolate tasting master class. Pupils were given three different types of chocolate to taste. They used their senses to describe. We are excited to start our new expedition ‘From Bean to Bar’.
Experience Day
In Crew Colclough, we have completed our experience day to engage us in our new writing unit. We tasted red beans, maize and corn tortillas. The Ancient Maya diet consisted mainly of these foods. Crew Colclough demonstrated courage by trying new foods. We also created our own Mayan masks and explored why they were used.
Hook day in expedition
Today we were looking at the timeline in Maya. We looked at what AD and BC stood for. AD stands for Anno Domini, which is Latin for in the year of the Lord. BC refers to the time before Jesus was born.
Hooking into our new expedition…
Crew Godley have been blasting off on an exciting journey through the Solar System! We have discovered fascinating facts about the planets and proudly created our own fact files, brought coding to life through fun Star Wars themed projects, and begun designing our very own solar systems. Watch this space to see our solar system evolve!
The Mayan Experience
Today we have explored our new text for spring. The text was written by Miss Colclough and is about a girl who falls down a tunnel and goes back in time to ancient Maya.
As part of our experience we made Mayan masks and tried their food!
A Seasonal Message from XP Trust
A number of deaf and hearing pupils from Plover School and the ARChi team have been working collaboratively on a British Sign Language version of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
This is another example of diversity and belonging that runs through our schools and is a concrete example of our culture of Crew.
On behalf of XP Trust, we would like to wish everyone a peaceful Christmas and New Year.
Andy Sprakes
Chief Academic Officer
XP Trust
Sharing our Stories: 19/12/2025
Beautiful work this week
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Top of the Blogs
Christmas Crafts @ Norton Juniors
G32 Reverse Advent @ XP Gateshead
A Very Special Visit from Santa @ Norton Infants
Share your stories with us!
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
Sharing our Final Product
Year 3 and 4 enjoyed sharing their final product with children across school. We had some amazing feedback from year 5 and 6 who enjoyed completing the activity sheet.
Christmas Party!
