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 and it was great to hear staff’s reflections during Friday’s staff crew on work they were proud of and wanted to share with others from the week. Here are just some examples of the great work from last week:

• Staff giving time to a weekend recce for DofE to ensure readiness for the assessed expedition.
• CPD (continuous professional development) for staff led by staff and students
• G31 fieldwork along The Tyne and G28 Fieldwork at Victoria Tunnels
• High quality work in classrooms and great thinking from students

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We were also lucky this week to have a visit from a great educator and friend, Jill Flack who is visiting the UK from Melbourne, Australia. Jill has extensive classroom teaching experience in Australia, USA, UK and Sweden, teaching in pre-schools, primary, secondary and University settings. It was a real joy to have Jill in school with us sharing her knowledge, energy and wisdom. 

Here is her email of thanks which is extended to you too.

Dear Gateshead XP students, Staff and School Community,

This week I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting your school.

It was a pleasure as I am a long time Educator and passionate about what educational opportunities can do to enrich our lives. I always love to see students, teachers and school communities at work but it was also a privilege because I was able to experience the optimism and enthusiasm for learning that is evident in your school.

Ambassadors Katie and Bella proudly explained and pointed out the features of learning at Gateshead XP as they showed me around. Small groups of students chatted with me about their own experiences and the staff I talked to reflected the positive tone and aspiration that I had heard from everyone throughout the day.

The development and benefits of working together in crews is certainly a feature and the pride in developing academically and personally is a joy for any educator to hear.

Your curriculum, its design and the way it is offered and experienced seems to me to acknowledge the need for a change in the way schools can meet the needs of a contemporary world.

Thankyou for openly sharing with me your thoughts, ideas and hopes for the education offered at your school and best wishes to all of you as you continue to grow and develop.

This week

As you know G31 are studying a learning expedition with the guiding question: “How does water shape our world?”. In science students have been looking at ecosystems which connect to the river and coastal environments and processes that they also have studied in Geography. There are two important pieces of work for G31 this week which will support them to develop their answer to their guiding question:

G31 Expert sessions – Biodiversity

On Monday our Year 7 students will be working with John Hayton from Durham Wildlife Trust. Given that students have been learning about the importance of water within ecosystems and the interdependence of species, John will work with the students to dissect owl pellets to give them an insight into the nature of conservation work and why it is important to protect and maintain biodiversity.

Climate Action Plan Group – Final Session

The above workshop has been organised by SOS as part of our student leadership group’s  work on sustainability. Students that have been part of our Climate Action Plan have their final session on Thursday this week. They will finalise their presentation on how our school can be made more sustainable in a range of areas such as energy consumption, resources and waste management etc. They will then present this to Mrs Mosley so that it can be brought to our Local Governing Committee where actions can then be agreed. We are thankful to our partners and the experts at SOS who have supported this important work.

G31 Fieldwork – Beach Clean and Ecological Fieldwork on Wednesday 18th June

G31 have fieldwork to Whitley Bay this Wednesday. See Mr Devitt’s post for more details. Students will need:

• Sun cream
• A hat
• A large water bottle (or two smaller water bottles)
• Comfortable walking shoes or trainers
• A packed lunch – students that usually have free school meals can be provided one by the school.

G28 Student Led Conferences

SLCs start for our Year 10 students and their families this week. Students have worked to prepare for their conference and will be ready to share their response to recent mock exams, their updated snapshot with HoWL and attendance information and the plans they have moving forward in readiness for Year 11 success, they will also talk through their work experience planning. Please can I remind all families that SLCs, like PoLs, are key moments in the development of our students and it is vital that parents, carers and families fully support SLCs. 

Here is the link to ask questions of  your child if you have not already done so. You should have now received a link to sign up for a time slot from your child’s Crew Leader. Please contact [email protected] if you do not receive this.

Festival Dance Prep

Students dancing at our festival of arts will continue to have their Tuesday morning prep sessions with our expert Eve from Phoenix Dance. Students will need their PE kit to change into for these sessions each week.

PE sessions this week

Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.

• G31 (Year 7) students
  • Class 1 have PE on Monday
  • Class 2 have PE on Thursday
• All of G30 (Year 8) have PE on Wednesday
• All of G29 (Year 9) and G28 (Year 10) have PE on Thursday.

Extended Study and after school clubs

After school clubs and extended study will run as normal this week. 

Looking Ahead 

Staff day – Friday 27th and Monday 30th 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. Students will not be expected to be in school on Friday or Monday.

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