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Star Reader Breakfast @ Carcroft School
Weekly update for families @ XP Gateshead
Handwriting Superstars @ Plover
Garden Restoration Complete! @ Norton Juniors
Impressive home learning @ Green Top
What is Crew? @ Norton Infants
As part of the G28 expedition “Another Brick in the Wall’ which has the guiding question ‘“How are structures important in helping us to explain our world?”, we have organised some Human and art fieldwork to Byker Wall on Monday 18th September.
The fieldwork has the learning target: I can explain the significance of Byker Wall to the Byker community.
As part of the visit, students will listen to experts to gain an understanding of the importance of Byker Wall to Newcastle and how it has supported a thriving community.
Students will be able to build on their experience at I, Daniel Blake by seeing the context in which it was set and develop their understanding of the welfare state further.
In art, students have been studying artist Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen. Konttinen has photographed the Byker community from the 1970s-2010s capturing the change in landscape. Students will also have the opportunity to work with architects who have renovated the original design. They will also draw inspiration from Byker Wall to inform their own final product piece.
Students will leave at 8.45 from school and return at 3.00pm. Students will need a to bring a packed lunch. If your child receives free school meals we will provide one. Students will need their normal school kit and comfortable shoes. Currently the weather forecast suggests some light rain showers so please make sure your child brings a rain jacket.
Rebecca Jones
We welcomed all of our students into school last week and we are delighted by how they have all settled into school. A Kurt Hahn quote that has continued to resonate with us over these last weeks is
“We are crew not passengers, strengthened by acts of consequential service to others”
We build our culture of crew at XPGateshead so that all members of our school community are impelled to work together as a team, to pitch in, to help others.
We are still getting used to our new bigger site and enjoying new spaces – our new classroom and crew spaces, theatre and larger social spaces. We are really pleased with how well our students are using these spaces and the maturity they show whilst moving around the site.
Last week saw the start of immersion for all new learning expeditions. Immersion 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 guiding question for the expedition. Guiding questions will be revealed to students this week.
G30 started their week in Crews unpacking what they learned at Ullswater about ‘What it means to be Crew’ and considering how that is applied back at school. All Crews took time to curate their Outward Bound fieldwork and the individual journeys they had all taken along with the character traits they had demonstrated. They then spent time agreeing their crew norms and what they would look like, sound like and feel like in classrooms.
All G30 students have resigned our ICT acceptable use agreement, which helps to ensure that students use technology appropriately and most importantly safely. All student iPads have now been delivered and we will be able to ensure that all students are online this week.
Students will continue with their immersion this week, thinking about what their guiding question can be having already held coal and considered its importance to the industrial revolution, as well as studying maps to consider how our landscape has changed since the 18th century.
PE sessions take place on Mondays for our Year 7 students so students need a full PE kit on this day.
Our year 8 students have had much deliberation on what their new expedition guiding question could be. This last week they have been learning about Peter Scott-Morgan, a man who defied biology by making more of his body digital after a diagnosis of motor neuron disease. They have been making connections between this, their anchor text – ‘The Curious incident..’ and a gallery walk which focussed on the transatlantic trade in enslaved people.
All will be revealed on Monday morning when there is a G29 expedition launch session.
There has been a change to the timetable for this week for PE:
After last week’s immersion, which included building structures; 3D modelling; and atomic weapons our year 9 students will discover their new guiding question on Monday.
There is more fieldwork for G28 on Thursday as part of their new learning expedition. We have organised a cultural visit to Northern Stage to see the critically acclaimed ‘I, Daniel Blake’. We are delighted to be able to offer this to our students as tickets are difficult to get hold of. Students will have a slightly early lunch and leave site at 12:30pm to travel by metro to the theatre for the afternoon performance. Students should be back to school by 5pm. Please see the recent post for more details.
G28 PE sessions take place on Thursday and Friday
Can I remind all families that students need to be in school for an 8.30am start to sessions. They must arrive by 8.25am at the latest. There will be staff in school supervising so students can arrive from 8.00 am. The vast majority of our students had perfect punctuality last week but not all of them. Please support us with our high expectation around punctuality to school.
For the next two weeks we will offer extended study sessions, from 3:15pm – 4:30pm each day apart from Friday when we finish at 3:15pm. These are study sessions where students can get support with their extended study.
Students do not need to book into these sessions, but must stay until the end of the session at 4.30pm.
We will be launching our new lunchtime and after school clubs programme at the end of September.
As usual if you have any questions about your son or daughter please get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance or email general enquiries to [email protected].
Thank you as always for your ongoing support. Together we are stronger #WeAreCrew.
Julie Mosley
As part of G28 upcoming expedition which they are currently in immersion for, we have organised a cultural visit to Northern Stage to see the critically acclaimed I, Daniel Blake.
Dan is a carpenter. A Geordie through and through. Just on the mend after a heart attack. Katie has just arrived from London. Finally got a council house for her and the kids. A fresh start.
I, Daniel Blake is one of the most important stories of a generation. A glimpse behind the headlines and the stark reality of what happens when the political system is stacked against you. With 14.5 million* people living in poverty in the UK, this is not fiction. It is reality.
A touching and vital story of how people come together in the face of adversity and how sometimes creating a family to support you just isn’t enough. The show is adapted for stage by Dave Johns who played Daniel Blake in the award winning 2016 film.
*Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2022 Poverty Report.
We feel that it is important for our students to have the experience of visiting a theatre to see a show (something we had to curtail last year).
The show has an age guidance of 14+ as it does explore some sensitive themes. We do feel that our Y9 cohort are mature enough to deal with this. We have consulted with people who have seen the show who have also advised that they think it would be appropriate for a mature Y9 cohort. Also, in the context of the upcoming expedition, exploring the realities of life for people living in our area and how systems that are supposed to support people can in fact let them down is crucial to their engagement with this expedition and our final product. You can view the specific guidance here if you would like to read anymore. Feel free to get in touch if you have any concerns.
This will take place on Thursday 14th September. Students will be having a slightly earlier lunch at 12pm so that we can leave school at 12.30 to travel by metro to Northern Stage. The show begins at 2pm and has a running time of 2 hours including an intermission.
We plan to be back to school by 5pm but we will update the website if this changes. Again, if this is a problem, please get in touch with your child’s crew leader.
Due to allergies within the cohort, students are not to bring any additional drinks or snacks for the performance. They should have their usual water bottle with them that we will ensure is filled before leaving school.
As part of G30’s first expedition of learning students will be taking part in important fieldwork at Beamish Museum in County Durham on Thursday 21st September.
Students will be required to be at school by no later than 8:25am as usual and we will be leaving school after Crew at 9:15am. We have a later than usual finish and expect to return to school by 4:45pm.
G30 students will need to bring their usual kit in a backpack:
A filled water bottle, Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener, notebook and reading book but will not need to bring their ipad.
They should wear comfortable shoes and bring a waterproof jacket and sun cream depending on the weather.
A healthy packed lunch will also be needed (this will be supplied by school, for those students who are entitled to a free school lunch, if it is required) and as always we must stress that this should not include nuts, fizzy drinks or energy drinks please.
Last week our new Year 7s were the 9th cohort of students from XP to head off to the Aberdovey Outward Bound centre to answer the guiding question ‘What does it mean to be Crew?’. These are their reflections after just three days of their secondary school journey…
XP is now the official new home of the Doncaster Youth Jazz Association.
Fifty years ago John Ellis MBE created the Doncaster Youth Jazz Association (DYJA).
Over the next half century, with three bands and a fourth ensemble made up of alumni, the organisation was to become internationally renowned.
The Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra has played at some of the awesome venues in the world, from the Royal Albert Hall to Buckingham Palace, the United Nations in New York to Ronnie Scott’s in London. Always delighting audiences and showcasing the young people of Doncaster’s talent and virtuosity.
Now, after many years at Beckett Road, DYJA are moving into our XP school, which will become their base. Their office, rehearsal and teaching rooms and music library – as well as full band rehearsal space will be here with us at Middle Bank.
Andy, our Chief Academic officer commented:
“We are absolutely delighted, across the XP Trust, that the Doncaster Youth Jazz Association is now based at our founding school, XP.
To support and be associated with an organisation that has travelled the world, sharing its music and the amazing talent of Doncaster’s young musicians, is very exciting and part of our ongoing commitment to the local community.
As we look forward to celebrating 10 years of XP in 2024, this feels like another landmark moment in our story – and we hope this is so for DYJA too as they continue their decades-long journey.”
Charlotte Arrowsmith, Chair of the Board of Trustees added:
“This feels like a new and exciting chapter for us at DYJA as we enter our 51st year. We’re delighted to have moved into XP School – and we’re looking forward to working and creating here, in such an inspiring place.”
BBK/Chotting @ Carcroft School
Weekly update for families @ XP Gateshead
Student Ambassadors – First meeting of the year @ Plover
Stay and Challenge @ Norton Infants
Class 12: Crew Reading @ Green Top
Act of Kindness @ Norton Juniors
After school your child’s iPad behaves exactly like any other iPad. During the day we manage the iPads so that only certain apps are available.
In order to download apps at home that you have agreed your child can have, you will need an Apple ID. If you do not have one, you can find instructions on how to set one up here.
If you have separate Apple ID’s – for example if your child already has an apple device – you can link Apple ID’s in a family sharing group. More info on that can be found here.
Screen time and other parental controls are also available. You can find guides to these here.
For additional protection we recommend that you filter what your children can access at home using your own Wifi. Most hubs for your Wifi at home will have settings that will also restrict content. Log in to your broadband provider account and search for parental controls.
The screen protector must be installed to keep the Applecare warranty on the iPad valid, please do this first to ensure the most successful installation.
You can follow this written guide or use our instructional video here:
Don’t unbox the iPad until you are ready to install the screen protector.
Make sure you have lots of space and a clean dust free flat surface before you start.
This is really nice and easy, open the case from the box, align the camera on the rear to the top right of the case and clip it in.
Then then username would be marvin.shed
11. The default password this year is “xpipad2023”
12. The next page will ask you to click to “Enroll this device” tap the blue button
13. The next screen will ask you to “Enable Location Services” please make sure this option is selected.
14. Your enrolment is now complete and default applications will now start to download.
What a first week back we have had! This week is fundamental to us in an XP School, it’s where we build and tend to Crew which is the foundation of our school and our pastoral structures…
‘If we get Crew right, we get everything right’.
Our G30 students have had a fantastic week at Ullswater finding out what crew means. I hope they returned to you full of tales of their outward bound adventures and new friendships. Across the week, students began to form strong bonds with their crew and crew leaders, supporting each other to rise to every challenge set. We could not have been more impressed by our new year 7 students. They were compassionate, courageous, respectful and showed integrity in equal measure across the week.
Our G29 students returned to school strong and spent their first week considering the question ‘How can we support each other to lead the learning of our new Year 7 Crew?’. Y8 Crew Leaders have been blown away by the quality of student work and the depth of thinking. There is no doubt that Y8 students will work with us to ensure that our new students are welcomed into XPGateshead and are quickly part of our school community. The week ended with a fantastic day of fieldwork in Gateshead and Newcastle which had been fully planned by each Crew. Their conduct on fieldwork was exceptional.
Our Pioneering G28 students led the way in school this week and returned stronger than ever. They worked as a Crew to answer the guiding question ‘How do we form great habits to tackle initiatives as a Crew with increasing agency, independence and resilience?’ They displayed greater maturity and had a clear sense of purpose as they were challenged to rethink how they best work as crews and the norms they use, strategically planned crew charity events for this year and prepared for fieldwork reconnecting with the Outdoors. It was a fantastic day out in Northumberland with over 8 km walked and smiles all round!
We could not have had a stronger start to our school year and can’t wait to welcome all students tomorrow.
Students will be working in their Crews on Monday and Tuesday reflecting on their Outward Bound experience and thinking about what Crew looks like in the classroom and around our school.
They will get tours of the school on Monday and our new spaces as well as an introduction to PE (students do not need their PE kits this week).
We will hand out iPads to G30 students on Monday. These will come with instructions on how to set these up on the school management system which is a fairly straightforward process. Students will need to set these up at home on Monday evening ready for a first training session on Tuesday. It is really important that the screen protector is applied as soon as you take the iPad out of the box, without this any insurance claims will not be valid.
On Wednesday, students will find out their new classes and Immersion for their new learning expedition will start.
Students will begin a week-long immersion for their new learning expedition this week.
They will have their first PE session on Tuesday so will need their PE kit.
On Monday, students will find out their new classes and their seating plans.
Students will begin immersion for their new learning expedition this week. As part of immersion, students will be taking part in local fieldwork on Tuesday when they will visit Gateshead High Street to conduct an environmental survey. Please see this post for more details.
G28 PE sessions take place on Thursday and Friday
On Monday, students will find out their new classes and their seating plans.
All students need to be in school for an 8.30am start so they must arrive by 8.25am at the latest. There will be staff in school supervising so students can arrive from 8.00 am.
We will finish formal sessions at 3.15pm and there will be no extended study or activities after school this week.
Cycling to school
We are really pleased to see so many of our students cycling or scooting to school. Can I remind parents that if students are to bring bikes or scooters to school then they must have a bike lock. In terms of safety, students should also have a bike helmet. Please check that your child’s bike is in good condition frequently.
Please note that electric scooters (e–scooters) are not allowed in school. This includes all other ‘powered transporters’ too such as hoverboards and electric unicycles.
As always, students need to bring a school bag with the following kit :
We also suggest that students bring a healthy snack for break time – no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks please as we do not allow these in school. Please note there must be no nut products in snacks or packed lunches – this is especially important as we have students in this cohort who are highly allergic to nut products.
Mobile phones should be switched off and in school bags each morning. Students should not be using mobile phones during the day without permission from a member of staff. If you need to contact your son or daughter please do so via the school office at [email protected] or on 0191 4814360.
Students can choose to bring in a healthy packed lunch (no nut products, confectionary, fizzy or energy drinks) or have a school meal with us.
Our school dinners are very popular with our students, thanks to our wonderful kitchen crew. Students make a daily food choice in crew each morning and we have a three week menu.
If your child receives a free school meal, we will provide lunch. Please contact the school office if you have any questions around school meals.
We now have our own XP Gateshead ParentPay account. All G28 and G29 students were given a letter last week detailing how to set up/link your ParentPay account so that you can continue paying for school lunches. All credit/debts will be carried across from the old account at the start of the new academic year.
G30 students will be sent home with a letter on Monday detailing how to set up your ParentPay account so that you can pay for school lunches.
If you do have any issues or do not receive the letter from your child please email the [email protected] for support.
It is Week 2 this week.
We are really looking forward to welcoming all of our students back tomorrow. As usual if you have any questions about your son or daughter please get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance or email general enquiries to [email protected].
Thank you for your ongoing support and a special thanks to G28 and G29 parents who have been sharing their XPG knowledge and expertise with our new G30 parents. Together, we are definitely stronger.
#WeAreCrew
#WeAreXPGateshead
Julie Mosley
Principal
As part of G28 year 9 immersion students will be taking part in local fieldwork.
On Tuesday, students will visit Gateshead High Street by metro to conduct an environmental quality survey to investigate inequalities in Gateshead.
Class 1 will be leaving school at 8:45 and returning at 11
Class 2 will be leaving at 11 and returning to school 12:45 in time for lunch.
G28 students will need to bring their usual kit to school including a waterproof jacket, comfortable shoes and sun cream depending on the weather.
