Dear Families

Students have settled back into school and routines well, it was great to hear staff and students talk about highlights of their week and the appreciations given on Friday during online Community Meeting with G31, G30 and G29.  It’s wonderful to see so many students recognising each others’ great habits, character, areas of improvement and a strong start in sessions.

Last week we launched our new learning expeditions across all year groups. More details of the types of activities that students have been carrying out in immersion can be found below.

A huge appreciation goes to those Year 10 students who have started supporting Year 9 students with their Passage preparations and Year 7 students who have started work on their first Student Led Conference (SLC). The commitment and care our students show to each other is impressive and they definitely are ‘crew not passengers’ at XPG.

Immersion

Last week we launched our new learning expeditions across all years. As is always the case, expeditions start with a week of immersion which is an opportunity for students to dip their toe into the content of the learning expeditions, to build background knowledge and generate curiosity about the GQ (guiding question) for the expedition. 

G31 Immersion

Year 7 students have two new learning expeditions in STEAM and HUMAN. Their STEAM immersion has involved reading extracts from a dystopian novel called Station 11 and preparing to carry out food tests, making connections back to their study of elements, compounds and mixtures from term 1.

In HUMAN and ARTS year 7 have been building background knowledge about World War I, and beginning to read a play called White Poppies as well as revisiting skills from term 1 to represent medals in graphite pencil drawings.

G30 Immersion

Year 8 have been learning about important figures from history such as Benjamin Franklin and Alessandro Volta. Year 8 have also carried out a gallery walk in HUMAN, making connections between stimulus images on natural hazards and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They have also started to read an abridged Modern English version of The Scottish Play to put together a storyboard of its key moments, before grappling with the full text. Connected to this in STEAM students have been carrying out physics experiments to do with objects in motion, revising their knowledge of elements, compounds and mixtures from Year 7 and grappling with an excerpt from A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. 

G29 Immersion

Year 9’s immersion has involved building background knowledge about health around the world and in our own country as well as trying to unravel a mysterious connection from these ideas to a 17th century poem by John Dryden. In STEAM students have been building viral, fungal and bacterial cells from scrap materials as part of their immersion. Miss Jamison was impressed by these creative and scientifically accurate models from Ben D, Francis, Eleanor, Dakota, Lily, Winnie, Peyton and Hallie. Brilliant work Year 9!

G28 immersion

This term Year 10 have an expedition that combines HUMAN and STEAM. The week of immersion has involved studying Nazi ideology and how pseudoscientific arguments were used to promote fear and division, as well as a study of The Weimar Republic of Germany between wars, and the impact that The Treaty of Versailles had on living conditions and society pre-WWII. Connected to this students have made connections from this and their wider studies from previous expeditions about the class system in Britain, that of today and of the past.

As you can see, these immersive and intensive experiences at the beginning of a learning expedition help to generate curiosity and excitement about the topic, build background knowledge and provide students a solid starting point to launch into and tackle their guiding questions for the rest of their learning expedition.

The week ahead

Guiding Questions

This week will see all of the GQs (guiding questions) revealed for our new expeditions. GQs are a crucial part of the anatomy of an expedition and are revealed at the end of immersion.

GQs influence, shape and act as a reference point for student learning. GQs provoke thinking and deepen learning throughout the 12 week expedition and allow students to be engaged in authentic and purposeful work which makes connections between different subject areas and disciplines. During the course of a learning expedition, our children experience a range of case studies, with challenging texts which deepen their understanding and help them to develop an answer to the rich GQ for the expedition.

PE sessions this week

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

• G30 students (Y8) have PE on Monday.
• For G31 students (Y7)
  • G31 Class 1 students have PE on Tuesday.
  • G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday.

SLC Preparation G31 and G30

SLCs for G31 and G30 will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 27th January 2025. It is an expectation that all families attend SLCs to fully support their child’s progress. All G31 and G30 families should have now made appointments to attend their child’s SLC. Please contact the school office if you have not arranged an appointment.

G31 and G30 students will continue with their preparations for their Student-Led Conferences. Please can all G30 families ensure that they have completed this Google Form to help your child to prepare for the conference.

We invest a lot of time in giving students opportunities to reflect upon their learning and growth. A significant amount of Crew time is devoted to this in the run-up to SLCs.  Please do also ask your child about how their preparation is going.

Important note and apology: SLC bookings for Year 8

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are trialling using Google Calendar as the booking system for SLCs for the first time rather than sign up genius.

We should have included cautionary notes in Google Calendar about the dates for booking SLC and the London fieldwork which is taking place for Year 8 students.

For example families with children in Class 2 will not be able to book SLC slots on the evening of Tuesday 28th January as this is when children will be in London. Your child’s Crew Leader or a member of staff will contact you if we need to change any existing bookings. Again, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

G29 (Year 9) Information Evening – Wednesday 15th January, 5:30-6:30pm

On Wednesday evening of this week we will hold an information evening for G29 families to give further details around key events this year – Passage Presentations, the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award  and our KS4 curriculum offer. This will take place at 5.30pm in school.

Our theatre space is out of use at the moment. To allow us to plan the best room to use, can all Year 9 families please indicate how many family members will be attending using this Google Form. Students do not need to attend but are welcome to do so.

Clubs and Extended Study

Lunchtime and after school Clubs and supervised Extended Study sessions return this week. Here is our offer:

This week also sees the return of the regular setting of Extended Study work for students.

It is important that students get into good habits around extended study. Studies have shown that this has a positive impact on student progress, on average (+ 5 months), particularly with pupils in secondary schools. We recognise that it is not always possible for students (or staff) to have a quiet working space at home which is why we offer a space to work in school from 3.30-4.30pm Monday-Thursday. For students who do not complete extended study and struggle to meet deadlines, directed extended study will be put in place. 

Our full rationale for Extended Study can be found here.

Dates to note this term

Year 8 Local Fieldwork: Working with experts at the Shipley Art Gallery 

• Class 2 fieldwork will take place on Tuesday 21st January.  
• Class 1 will take place on Thursday 23rd January. 

Year 8 London Fieldwork: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8

As part of their new learning expedition Year 8 students will be carrying out important fieldwork at the V&A (The Victoria & Albert Museum in London). This is in partnership with the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Students will travel to London and back in a day by rail, and will work with experts at the museum to help put together artistic responses to their new guiding question. We will post more details about timings of these days soon:

• Year 8 Class 2 will travel to London on Tuesday 28th January
• Year 8 Class 1 will travel to London on Monday 3rd February

This week families will receive a letter with full details and consent for this fieldwork, including travel times and organisational details. Please note that we want to give every student the opportunity to come to London and there is no cost to families for this fieldwork. We do expect a commitment from both students and families in terms of their conduct and if there are any absences on the day of travel, we will ask families to cover the costs incurred by us as a school.

Staff Days on Friday 24th and Monday 27th January

Please note that our whole staff will be travelling to Doncaster on Thursday 23rd January for a twilight CPD session which will launch an XP Trust Teaching and Learning conference on Friday so school will end at the slightly earlier time of 1.30pm on Thursday 23rd January to allow for this.

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

Principal

Dear Families

Happy 2025!

We hope you have had a great Christmas and a safe and restful New Year. 

We are looking forward to welcoming students back tomorrow to the start of our new term at XP Gateshead.

There is a lot of information in this update, it being the start of a new term. Please read all of the following information carefully as there are important notes for all families and children.

Here’s some reminders to get a good start to term…

Punctuality

School opens at 8:00am every morning. Students should arrive between 8:00am and 8:25 am and there are spaces available for socialising, reading or completing extended study. Students must be on site for 8.25am for the call to Crew. A calm start to the day is really important for students to settle into learning so we ask that parents support their child with this. 

Dress code

Please refer to our website post for full details on our dress code. Can I remind parents of the following expectations around daily dress within school and ask for your full support around this as we move in to a new term 

For a normal day within school, we do not think it appropriate that students wear:

• Hats, hoods & coats inside school

• • Revealing clothing, i.e. revealing the midriff, chest or upper thigh

• Noticeable make-up, including false eyelashes

• Valuable, sentimental or impractical accessories / jewellery

• • • For example heavy chains, thick sovereign rings, or false nails

• Impractical footwear:

• For example sliders, flip-flops or high heels.

Daily kit list

As always, students need to bring a school bag with:

• A filled water bottle
• Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener. Please note the new additions of a glue stick and purple biro pen.
• A fully charged iPad 
• Their AR reading book (please remember that as part of our reading strategy, we expect all students to read between 20-30 mins. each day)
• Headphones 
• A healthy snack for break (no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks, nut products)
• A notebook

Last term we had some issues with individuals arriving at school without a charged iPad. Please ensure your child has a charger at home so that charging issues can be avoided this term. We do not provide replacement chargers. 

PE sessions this week

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

• G30 students (Y8) have PE on both Monday and Friday this week
• For G31 students (Y7)
  • G31 Class 1 students have PE on Tuesday.
  • G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday.

Extended Study and Clubs

There will be no extended study or school clubs running this week. After school and lunch sessions will all start again next week.

New Term – New Expeditions

A new term means new and exciting expeditions for our students. Immersion takes place this week and our students will be working hard to find out what their new guiding questions are and the challenges and new learning their expeditions will bring. 

Staffing Changes for the New Year

As detailed last term, there is one staffing change for the Spring term. Mr Azam is going to be teaching Year 8 Class 2 as has been the case this term, and he will also now teach Year 9 Class 1. Ms Marshall will now teach Year 8 Class 1 and will continue to teach Year 9 Class 2. This will allow for more collaboration within the Maths team in school, which also includes Mrs Mosley.

For the first two weeks of this term Mr Azam will be enjoying paternity leave with his wife and beautiful new baby who was born over the Christmas break. XPG staff will be covering his sessions with high quality work set by Mr Azam.

Dates to note this term 

Here’s our 2024/25 Calendar again for you to see our term dates this year. 

Student-Led Conferences G31 and G30

SLCs (Student-Led Conferences) replace the conventional parents’ evenings at XP Gateshead. During an SLC, your son or daughter will share their learning with you and their crew leader. You will have an opportunity to look at work from their portfolio and ask questions about their HoWLs (Habits of Work and Learning) and AP grades (Academic Progress). They will also share their progress around pledges set last term with you during the SLC and you will be able to ask questions around these. 

SLCs for G31 and G30 will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 27th January 2025. In the coming weeks you will receive an SLC invite from your son or daughter’s crew leader. It is an expectation that all families attend SLCs to fully support their child’s progress. 

Passage Presentations G29 

Our Y9 students will give passage presentations in March.  Passage presentations are an opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and their readiness to move on to the next phase of their education. G29 students will provide evidence to an audience of family, their Crew Leader and an XPG invited guest to demonstrate that they are ready to start their GCSE journey. 

In the coming weeks you will hear more about passage presentations from your son or daughter as they start preparing for this key passage at XPG. Passage presentations will take place during the 17th and 18th March and slots will be available throughout the days. There will be a booking system in place and shared with families in coming weeks.

We will be able to share more information about these important rites of passage, as well as the  Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and our Key Stage 4 offer of GCSEs and other courses as part of an information for all families.

This information evening for all Year 9 families will take place on Wednesday 15th January at 5:30pm.

London: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8

As part of their new learning expedition Year 8 students will be carrying out important fieldwork at the V&A (The Victoria & Albert Museum in London). This is in partnership with the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Students will travel to London and back in a day by rail, and will work with experts at the museum to help put together artistic responses to their new guiding question. We will post more details about timings of these days soon,

• Year 8 Class 2 will travel to London on Tuesday 28th January
• Year 8 Class 1 will travel to London on Monday 3rd February

Student/Teacher-led conferences for Year 10

Students in Year 10 will for the first time take part in Student/Teacher-led conferences. These are shorter conferences than SLCs where students will sit alongside each of their subject teachers to share their progress with you on their new Key Stage 4 courses.

These are scheduled to take part on:

• Monday 10th February for Class 1
• Tuesday 11th February for Class 2

We will share a booking system with Year 10 families soon.

Staff Days

A reminder that we have two staff development days each half term; 

Friday 24th and Monday 27th January. Our whole staff will be travelling to Doncaster on Thursday 23rd January for a twilight CPD session which will launch an XPTrust Teaching and Learning conference on Friday so school will end at the slightly earlier time of 1:30pm on Thursday 23rd January to allow for this.

Friday 14th and Monday 17th March.

As normal, students are not expected to be in school on these days.

Holiday dates

Please note that our dates do not always fully align to other Gateshead schools. We keep the Easter Holiday in the same place each year, so that we can run our term 2 and term 3 learning expeditions to be of the similar length each year – this would not be possible if we followed the changes to Easter each year. 

Spring half term break starts Friday 21st February. We return to school on Monday 3rd March 2025. 

Easter Holidays

We break up for Easter holidays Friday 28th March and return to school on Monday 14th April 2025. Please note that the bank holiday weekend of Good Friday 18th April and Easter Monday 21st April are outside of our two week break. See 2024/25 Calendar.

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

Principal

Thanks to our families for your support this term, the last couple of weeks of Presentations of Learning (PoLs) are always a special time, giving students an opportunity to present the best versions of themselves to their families. We have had fantastic feedback from all who attended the PoLs in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 and look forward to showcasing on our website where we will curate each expedition and link to our final products.

We have already posted about previous PoLs but I just wanted to give one final praise to G28 whose Presentation of Learning took the form of taught lessons about their studies with families as students. What an incredible PoL, with our students really stepping up in terms of confidence, warmth and engaging families in their learning. Absolutely stunning!

Staffing Changes for the New Year

There will be one change of staffing in Year 8 and Year 9. Mr Azam is going to be teaching Year 8 Class 2 as has been the case this term, and he will also now teach Year 9 Class 1. Ms Marshall will now teach Year 8 Class 1 and will continue to teach Year 9 Class 2. This will allow for more collaboration within the Maths team in school, which also includes Mrs Mosley.

There are also a few events that we want to bring to your attention in the next term.

Student-led Conferences: Year 7 and Year 8

Year 7 and Year 8 will be carrying out Student-Led Conferences in mid January. Student-Led Conferences give children the opportunity to share the information that they feel best reflects their learning journey and reflects on this question ‘Am I moving towards where I need to be?’. SLC’s ensure that they reflect on all the elements of the Narrative for Success including attendance, HoWLs and Academic Progress.

Invites to choose a slot for families will be sent when we return to school. SLCs for Year 7 and Year 8 will take place in the fortnight commencing 27th January.

London: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8

As part of their new learning expedition Year 8 students will be carrying out important fieldwork at the V&A (The Victoria & Albert Museum in London). This is in partnership with the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Students will travel to London and back in a day by rail, and will work with experts at the museum to help put together artistic responses to their new guiding question.

• Year 8 Class 2 will travel to London on Tuesday 28th January
• Year 8 Class 1 will travel to London on Monday 3rd February

There will be enough SLC slots for families to avoid your child’s slot being close to the London visit.

Passage Presentation Preparation for Year 9

When they return to school, Year 9 students will begin to prepare to carry out Passage Presentations. These will take place on Monday 17th March and Tuesday 18th March during the daytime in school and last for one hour. We will be able to share more information about these important rites of passage, as well as the  Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and our Key Stage 4 offer of GCSEs and other courses as part of an information for all families.

This information evening will take place on Wednesday 15th January at 5:30pm.

Student/Teacher-led conferences for Year 10

Students in Year 10 will for the first time take part in Student/Teacher-led conferences. These are shorter conferences than SLCs where students will sit alongside each of their subject teachers to share their progress with you on their new Key Stage 4 courses.

These are scheduled to take part in the week commencing Monday 10th February, with an evening for each Class in Year 10. We will post more details when we return, including assessment information and an opportunity for you to ask questions in advance of these conferences.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our students and families a very Merry Christmas and restful holiday period. We return to school on Monday 6th January 2025 and look forward to another successful New Year at XP Gateshead.

Julie Mosley

Principal, XP Gateshead