Dear Parents/Carers

It was great to see our students make a strong start back to school last week after their half term break. Students were back to working hard, getting smart and being kind, stepping up to our high expectations in and outside of sessions. 

Secondary School National Offers

Parents of Year 6 students received notification of secondary school places last week. XP Gateshead works with the Local Authority admissions teams to administer places. As in previous years, we received more applications than we can offer places and our admissions were determined by a random lottery administered independently by the Local Authority.

I’d like to thank all families who expressed an interest in our school and the work we do here. An appreciation too for our existing families and students for showing our school for the really special place that it is. Again we are massively oversubscribed with around eight applicants for every place at the school.

For our new families, welcome to XP Gateshead and congratulations! We are delighted to have you and your children join our school. See last week’s welcome post for more details. 

G29 work with Blue Sky Trust

This week, our students had the privilege of welcoming experts from Bluesky Trust into their lessons, including Miss Pegg!

Bluesky Trust supports and connects individuals across Tyne & Wear, Durham, Northumberland, and North Cumbria throughout their journey with HIV. In addition to their vital support work, they also educate communities to help break the stigma surrounding HIV.

See Miss Jones post for more information.

G30 Theatre visit

G30 students were able to see their Drama expert Christina Berriman Dawson in Ishy Din’s play: Champion at the Live Theatre this week. Students dealt incredibly well with the challenging content of the play, and asked some really thoughtful questions about the play, and the nature of stage performance. We would like to appreciate JD Stewart, the New Work Producer at Live and all of the cast and crew for helping us to give this opportunity to our children.

Attendance

Last week I attended a Department for Education conference – Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity: Transforming Secondary School Attendance. Schools Minister Catherine McKinnell talked about the attendance challenges schools in the North East are facing.  

You can read more about the event and the points raised by the Schools Minister by clicking here.

We continue to work hard XPG around attendance as this is vital to the life chances of our young people and their success. Being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation throughout life. Put simply, if pupils are not at school then they will not be learning and will fall behind in all areas of their development.

We will continue to look closely at attendance and the ways we celebrate attendance and support those students and families who need to improve their attendance. We expect every  student to be in school and want every young person to hit our 97%+ attendance target.

Attendance is an area we all work hard on together – students, parents/carers, Crew Leaders and our inclusion team. We appreciate your full support with this.  

If, for any reason, your child is unable to attend school you must contact the school office before 8:25am by telephone. This is a safeguarding procedure which has to happen on every day of absence.

Please share any concerns you have around attendance or punctuality with your childs’ Crew Leader. 

The week ahead

G30 Fieldwork – DesignLab 

In the final of their series of fieldwork sessions with experts from DesignLab and the Shipley and V&A, G30 students will return to the Shipley this week. This final session will be a chance to pull together their ideas from across the term to produce pieces of art in response to the brief, which has challenged them to think about power in the arts, in an era where mass production is competing with individually crafted pieces.

• G30 Class 1 will work at the Shipley during the school day on Tuesday 11th March
• G30 Class 2 will work at the Shipley during the school day on Thursday 13th March

G30 students will be walking to the Shipley following their regular crew session in the morning so will need:

• Their regular full kit
• Comfortable shoes suitable for walking
• Appropriate clothing for the weather 
  • The forecast for both days is cool with a chance of showers so lots of layers and a waterproof jacket are essential.
• A packed lunch

G30 work with expert – Wednesday 12th March

Year 8 will also have their final sessions with Christina Berriman Dawson this week as they refine their performances for the Presentation of Learning at Caedmon Hall.

G31 Edberts House

Following a visit to Edberts House by some student leaders in Year 7 earlier this term, we will host workers from the charity in school this week. Alongside our student leaders they will present to G31 about the need for support around feeding families in Gateshead as a consequence of the cost of living crisis. We are really proud of G31 and the work that they are doing to ensure that their learning about nutrition, digestion and the wider issues that families face is being put to great use. Thanks also to all families who are supporting us by providing ingredients for the food packages that will be passed onto Edberts.

PE this week

• G31 (Year 7)
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week.
  • Class 2 have PE on Wednesday this week.
• G30 (Year 8)
  • Both classes have PE on Monday this week.
• G29 (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 (Year 10) have PE on Thursday.

Extended Study and Clubs

Clubs will all run this week along with extended study sessions every day except Friday. 

Staff Days – Friday 14th and Monday 17th March

Friday is the first of our staff days this half term, the second is on Monday 17th March. Our staff team will be planning for next term’s expeditions and this year’s curriculum priorities from our school improvement plan. Students will not be expected to be in school on Friday or Monday unless they are G29 students who have a Passage presentation on Monday. If students want to come to school on Friday to prepare for their passage, they must organise this through their Crew Leader.

Looking Ahead:

IMPORTANT – Passage Presentations next week

G29 are working hard on preparing for their passage presentation next week. They will be using Crew time and additional time in sessions to get ready for this important moment in their time at XP Gateshead.

Passage presentations are hugely important benchmark demonstrations of learning over multiple years that mark this pivotal transition from Key Stage 3 into Key Stage 4 and GCSEs. During the presentations, students will use their portfolios as a guide to articulate their progress and growth. These presentations are another means by which we help students to develop their character and hone their public speaking. The rubrics that will be used during the presentations can be found here.

Monday 17th March is a staff day.

Students will be welcome to arrive at school earlier than their passage presentation slot to do final preparations, and then should return home after their presentation. If students do not have a passage presentation, there is not a need for them to be in school on Monday 17th March.

Tuesday 18th March

This is not a staff day, however Year 9 teachers will be involved in passage presentations throughout the day so we will not be running a regular timetable for this day for Year 9 students. There are three options for Year 9 students and this day:

• Come into school for the full school day (including staying in school after a Passage Presentation).
• Come into school for a Passage Presentation and then leave with their family.
• Work on extended study from home.

Please can all G29 families use this Google Form to let us know what your child will be doing, and whether they will need a school lunch.

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