Dear Families
“At XP, we build our community through activism, leadership and equity, sharing our stories as we go…”
This one ‘simple’ statement captures all of the work we do and the design of every aspect of our school:
- Building our community – “What do we do to survive, sustain and thrive… ?”
- Activism – How are we actively contributing to building a better world… ?
- Leadership – “How are we moving towards where we want to be … ?”
- Equity – “What do we need to be the best version of ourselves… ?”
- Sharing our stories – “How are we doing the right things, in the right way, with the right tools, and how can we show this to our community… ?”
Last week, as ever, there were many examples of staff and student work which brought this statement to life Here is just some of the great work from last week:
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G31 Experts in school
Last week G31 had a range of experts in school supporting them with preparation for their Presentation of Learning and their role in the first XPG Live event. A reminder that all Year 8 families are expected to be at school on Thursday afternoon and then other families can attend after school. For more details of those events please see this post.
Scott Boldt
On Wednesday, Dr Scott Boldt from The University of Cumbria and Big Picture joined our Year 8 students to help them to understand migration to and from and within the island of Ireland.
Our Chief Academic Officer, Andy Sprakes, has written about this fantastic opportunity for our students here.
Phosphorus Theatre
Also on Wednesday experts from Phosphorus Theatre worked with Year 8 students in a drama workshop which explored the lived experience of refugees. Out students have used this to help them to devise pieces of drama which will be performed to families this Thursday.
Kema Kay
On Friday of this week all Year 8 students worked with Kema Kay, a local writer, actor and musician to initiate the composition of a piece which will be performed on Thursday. Along with Rob Kitchen from Gateshead Music Hub, Kema supported our students to devise rap lyrics, using a piece of Punjabi music as a stimulus alongside ideas from their current expedition. This will be followed up tomorrow with another session with Haaji Ka Halva who will run expert workshops supporting our students to use music technology to further develop and remix the music that they have written.
G30 students visit to Northumbria University
As part of their continued preparation for Post 16 pathways and careers education, a group of our G30 students visited Northumbria University this week.
Our continued work with Newcastle University, Northumbria University and Durham University is indicative of our ambition for all students. A university pathway is something that all children should both consider and be prepared for.
Senor Pedro
On Friday last week we also had a native Spanish speaker in school, who worked with students throughout the day to help them to develop their speaking and listening. Thanks for Pedro for spending the day with us!
G29 and G30 Sports sessions at Gateshead College
On Friday this week, G30 and G29 students spent the day at Gateshead College Academy for Sport. The day included access to a range of sports: cricket, rugby, football and athletics using the world class facilities at the college. Students met staff and student leaders from the college as well as participating in sports throughout the day.
This week is a bumper week in school
G28 GCSE exams
This week our G28 students will sit their final GCSE exams.
- Monday 15th June
- Science – Physics Combined Paper 2 (1hr 15, am)
- Further Maths Paper 2 (1 hr 45, pm)
- Tuesday 16th June
- Spanish – Paper 4 (1hr 15, am) 45mins)
We have continued to put timetable changes in place to allow focused revision sessions prior to exams and make sure that our Y11 students are fully prepared. These are in place for Spanish and Further Maths students during session 2 and 3 on Monday following the Science exam. All other students can leave site after the Science exam on Monday. Spanish students are able to leave site at the end of session 3 on Monday.
G28 Art and Photography moderation
On Thursday this week, we have a moderation visit which will finalise the grades for G28’s photography and fine art GCSEs. A huge appreciation goes out to Ms Macphail and Mrs Carter who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to help students to fulfill their potential as well as managing the logistics of moderation and the subsequent exhibition of the students’ work.
For G28 Families coming to school, we must emphasise that this work is still live GCSE work. Therefore there are some quite strict protocols that must be followed to ensure that all families can enjoy the artwork in a way which does not compromise the students’ hard work.
- The exhibition will be supervised by XPG staff.
- Strict Social Media & Photo Ban: Families and students must not take photographs of the work, and no images of the artwork can be posted on social media platforms.
- The artwork must not be touched at all.
G31 Presentation of Learning – Thursday 18th June, 1:45pm – 3:10pm /
XPG Live, Thursday 18th June, 3:30pm-6:00pm
Another reminder that on Thursday we have three important events in school. Both the Year 8 Presentation of Learning in the afternoon and our first XPG Live event after school are a celebration of the diversity and belonging within our community. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. As part of XPG Live G28’s artwork is also being exhibited (as per the note above).
For more details of those events please see this post.
PE sessions this week
Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.
- G32 students (Y7)
- Class 1 have PE on Thursday this week
- Class 2 have PE on Wednesday this week
- All G31 (Year 8) students have PE on Tuesday
- All of G30 (Year 9) have PE on Monday
- All of G29 (Year 10) have PE on Monday
Extended Study and after school clubs
After school clubs and extended study will run on Tuesday and Wednesday this week only due to SLCs and our XPG Live event.
Looking Ahead
G28 Final Word and Celebrations: w/c Monday 22nd June
We are really looking forward to seeing our Y11 students in school with their families across the week commencing Monday 22nd June to present their Final Words. Final Word is the last formal presentation that our students deliver at XPG. It provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their learning, celebrate their achievements, and consider how far they have grown their character at the end of their time at their XPG as well as their readiness to move on to the next phase of their education. As has always been the case with our G28 Pioneers, they will be the first students at XPG to complete Final Words and I am really excited to hear from all of our students and I couldn’t be prouder of them and their time with us at XPG. They have continued to set the bar showing us all that there is indeed more to us than we know!
Our G28 Celebration Evening (Prom) takes place on Thursday 25th June and the coach will be leaving from school to transport all students to Beamish Park Hotel at 6:30pm. The school site will be open from 5:30pm for students to get photos with others. The coach will be leaving Beamish Park Hotel at 10:30pm then arriving back at school at 11pm. Parents need to make arrangements to get their children home at this point.
We will have a final G28 community circle on Friday 26th June at 2pm in school with staff and students to appreciate our G28 Pioneers and their XPG journey. This will finish at around 3:15pm.
Staff day – Friday 26th and Monday 29th June
Friday is the first of our staff days this half term, the second is on Monday 30th June (these are our last staff days this academic year). Our staff team will be planning for next year’s expeditions as well as sharing their work this year in their Educator Led Conferences (ELCs – think SLCs for staff). On Friday we will also have our final G28 Community Meeting at 2pm.
Students will not be expected to be in school on Friday 26th, or Monday 29th June.
As usual if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Julie Mosley
