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.
An awesome first week back! @ XP
G32 Expedition Reveal @ XP Gateshead
The Bus was for Us! @ Norton Infants
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
During our first week back Nursery experienced a very exciting hook week to power up our new expedition, We are on the move – Would you travel by Wheels, Wings or Other things?
We had a very exciting Vehicle Showcase on our school grounds to support our hook week text The Bus is For Us by Michael Rosen. In the text the children explored various modes of transport that were available for people to travel by, both real and imaginary. To bring the text to life the Nursery children observed a range of real life vehicles or modes of transport that move around our local community including; a tractor, a camper van, an old american Sheriff car, a fire engine, an old vintage car, roller skates, a scooter and a mobility scooter! The children were so excited to look at the vehicles and sit inside/on some of them. The talked about the appearance and colours of the vehicles and picked out key features, such as wheels, mirrors, lights, fuel cap/bottle and special features such as ladders and raised roofs!
Nursery also went on a short trip to the Junior school to make traffic observations. They were excited to count and see various modes of transport that moved up and down the busy road. We saw a van, a post van, several cars, a bike, someone walking and a dog, birds flying, lorries and two trucks. Finally after a little wait we were even lucky enough to see a Bus!! “The Bus is for us, the Bus is for everyone!”
We then thought carefully about what we had seen and placed lollypop sticks to mark a simple tally, which helped the children to remember the different kinds of vehicles.
Each day we are encouraged to walk to school to stay healthy and help the environment, we complete a Travel Tracker to record this. When we were completing this in hook week, the children were encouraged to consider how they move through their journey to school, is it by wheels or other things?
Finally to race to the finale of our week Nursery were asked to come to school on their bikes or scooters as an alternative to walking or driving. The children were so excited to share their bikes and scooters with us.
What a wonderful hook week and first week back it was to chase the Christmas blues away and accelerate our learning into their latest expedition.
Today in Maths, we continued to practise making different amounts using coins and notes. The children worked together in pairs, exploring different ways to make the same total and explaining their thinking to each other.
There was lots of brilliant teamwork on show, with children showing respect by listening carefully and compassion by supporting their partners when they found something tricky. It was lovely to see everyone encouraging one another and celebrating success together. A great lesson full of collaboration and mathematical thinking!
The primary application deadline is 15 January!
Across XP Trust primary schools, children learn through a rigorous, standards-based curriculum, supported by strong relationships through Crew so every child is known, challenged and encouraged to do their best.
Find out more about our primary schools and places at xptrust.org/places.
What a fantastic way to finish our Hook Week!
This morning we were delighted to welcome so many of our grown-ups into school to join us for a games morning. The children loved sharing their favourite board games, explaining the rules and, most importantly, playing together with friends and family. There was lots of laughter, teamwork and friendly competition – a really joyful atmosphere to end a busy and exciting week.
As well as being great fun, the morning also helped us begin important conversations about togetherness, fairness and belonging. Playing games gave the children opportunities to take turns, listen to others, negotiate rules and support one another – all skills that link beautifully to our new expedition.
Our guiding question for this expedition is:
“Diverse Doncaster – Where do I belong?”
Over the coming weeks, the children will be exploring what makes Doncaster special, the many different people and communities who live here, and how we all belong in our own unique ways. The games morning was a lovely starting point, showing how shared activities can bring people together and help us feel connected.
As the expedition develops, the children will be working towards a final product that celebrates Doncaster, our community and our sense of belonging. We can’t wait to share more details as their ideas and learning grow.
Thank you so much to all the adults who joined us this morning – your support really does make experiences like this extra special. It was the perfect way to round off Hook Week and launch us into an exciting new learning journey together.
During Hook Week, the children in class were treated to some very special visitors as we kicked off our new expedition titled “We Are on the Move.” To launch our learning in an exciting and memorable way, our school playground was transformed into our very own vehicle showcase!
The children had the fantastic opportunity to get up close with a wide variety of vehicles, each one sparking curiosity, conversation, and lots of excitement. The showcase included a tractor, a camper van, a beautiful vintage car, and even a fire engine. One of the highlights was a police car that was once in operation all the way in America, which the children found especially fascinating as they learned about how vehicles can be used differently around the world.
The children absolutely loved exploring the vehicles, asking questions, and imagining where each one might take them. It was a brilliant hands-on experience that perfectly set the scene for our new expedition and helped bring the theme of movement and travel to life.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Parkhouse, who organised and arranged for many of the vehicles to come into school. His support helped make this experience truly special for the children.
We are so excited to see where our “We Are on the Move” expedition will take us next and can’t wait to continue our learning journey together!
During Hook Week, the children in class were treated to some very special visitors as we kicked off our new expedition titled “We Are on the Move.” To launch our learning in an exciting and memorable way, our school playground was transformed into our very own vehicle showcase!
The children had the fantastic opportunity to get up close with a wide variety of vehicles, each one sparking curiosity, conversation, and lots of excitement. The showcase included a tractor, a camper van, a beautiful vintage car, and even a fire engine. One of the highlights was a police car that was once in operation all the way in America, which the children found especially fascinating as they learned about how vehicles can be used differently around the world.
The children absolutely loved exploring the vehicles, asking questions, and imagining where each one might take them. It was a brilliant hands-on experience that perfectly set the scene for our new expedition and helped bring the theme of movement and travel to life.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Parkhouse, who organised and arranged for many of the vehicles to come into school. His support helped make this experience truly special for the children.
We are so excited to see where our “We Are on the Move” expedition will take us next and can’t wait to continue our learning journey together!
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.
Ethics in Action: X30 Admiral take the floor @ XP
An exciting visit from a Game Expert @ Norton Infants
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
This afternoon KS1 had a very exciting visit with a very special expert – a professional game designer and creator – who shared their fascinating world of board games with our students.
During the visit, expanded on their hook week knowledge and the children learned about the materials that go into making a board game, from the colorful cards to the intricate game boards and even the tiny tokens that make playing so much fun. Our guest also explained the step-by-step process of creating a board game, from the initial idea and design to the final product.
It was an inspiring visit that encouraged our students to think creatively, work collaboratively, and see the exciting possibilities in designing and playing games. We are definitely very excited to get stuck in with our product now!!
This week, the classroom has been full of excitement as the children began exploring our new science case study through practical, hands-on learning experiences.
Yesterday, the children worked collaboratively in their groups to make their own batches of play dough. Some mixtures were more successful than others, but every group had plenty of fun experimenting, problem-solving, and learning along the way. Today, we built on this by exploring how we can change the shape of our play dough, transforming it into a variety of different objects by twisting, rolling squashing and stretching.
Alongside this, we have been investigating a range of other materials. The children have really impressed me with how quickly they are picking up and confidently using scientific vocabulary to describe the properties of materials. Words such as hard, smooth, see-through, waterproof, bendy, and rough are already becoming part of their everyday discussions and they have been using these properties to group materials.
It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, teamwork, and growing confidence as young scientists as they explore, experiment, and ask thoughtful questions about the world around them.
