Happy Friday and welcome back – here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust this week!

To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit http://xptrust.org/stories #WeAreCrew

Students will be given their phones soon to make contact home.  Again we must stress that signal in the area is very patchy so we cannot guarantee that you will receive a call.

Please be assured that all of our Crews are doing well.  We will continue to post updates from the centre on our Twitter feed.

As part of their first week back in school, students will be planning and carrying out fieldwork in the NewcastleGateshead area on Friday 2nd September. Students will be using this fieldwork to answer the questions:

‘How can we support each other to lead the learning of our new Year 7 Crew?’

“How can we find out what is on our doorstep to enrich future learning expeditions for all future students?”

Students will complete the fieldwork during the school day and will be back in school for 3.15pm.

Each Crew will put together a ‘Crew picnic’. You child will be able to give you more details on how they plan to contribute towards this picnic.

As usual, students need to bring their school bag with iPad as photographs and notes from the day will contribute towards their JASS award.

They should also be prepared for the weather conditions, so they must have:

• Appropriate clothing including for the possibility of showers
• Suitable footwear for a day’s walking in urban area
• Water bottle
• Suncream
• A cap or hat

Good evening

We hope you have all had a fantastic break over the summer.

It is now just one week until our adventure together at the Howtown Outward Bound Centre on Ullswater.

A reminder that the kit list and information about medication can be found by clicking here.

Important details for Tuesday 30th August

• All students must bring a £10 cash deposit to school with them. We will collect this as soon as they arrive. Crews’ deposits are pooled as each Crew has joint responsibility for their specialist kit for the week. Deposits are returned at the end of the week once all specialist equipment has been checked back in.
• Students must arrive at school between 8.00am and 8.25am and will leave parents at the main gate to go to their first Crew session (our coach will be leaving mid-morning).
• Students will need a packed lunch for the very first day. We will eat lunch at the centre as soon as we arrive. Following this, all meals are provided.
  • Please make sure there are no nut products in the packed lunch
  • Please put the packed lunch in a box or bag separate from your child’s main luggage so that they have easy access to it on arrival.
• Students can bring mobile phones with them, but these will be handed to their Crew Leader on Tuesday morning. They will have an opportunity to call you on Tuesday – likely around teatime and then again on Thursday afternoon when they return to the centre from their expedition – however reception at the centre is patchy so we cannot guarantee a call. Students will not be able to call you on Wednesday as they will be away from the centre on an overnight expedition. Please be assured that no news is good news! We will do our best to keep our Twitter stream updated with photographs during the week.
• Snacks, drinks and sweets for the coach or for throughout the week are not permitted and are not required.
• Students can bring a small amount of money in addition to their deposit if they wish – no more than £10. There is a tuck shop on site where students can get treats or Outward Bound branded kit such as pencils or beanie hats if they choose. This is usually opened on the final Thursday evening.

Happy Friday – here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust this week, for the last time this Academic Year!

Thank you for joining us for another great year of beautiful work and stories from across the XP Trust – we hope you have a wonderful summer!

We’ll see you in September!

To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org/stories
#WeAreCrew

As part of their work on their expedition: What a Wonderful World, students have put together a website. To access the website: click here.

This website does two things:

Our local priority species

The website contains important scientific information about some of our regions protected species. Students have worked hard to product beautiful poetic and scientific writing and artwork on each of these species.

“We want to inform people of the danger all of these beautiful species are in because of us. Here at XPG we have been learning all about these species which are all on the red or priority list and are endangered and we feel like it is important to raise awareness to our community about these species.”

Exploring our green corridor

The website also contains a geocaching route which you can follow to explore some of the beautiful green spaces around our school.

“We enjoyed our time in our green corridor so much that we have put together a set of clues and geocaches for families in our community to follow and explore our green corridor too. This is because we want you to develop a love of nature. If more people spend more time in nature, then we think you’ll be more likely to want to look after nature just like we do, and improve our relationship with the natural world.”

There are six geocaches in the area around our school and the Windy Nook Green Corridor. The route starts at our school gate. Hunt for and then scan the QR code at our gate and follow the clues, taking the greenest route possible!

To access the geocaching route, click here.

Our PoL (Presentation of Learning) will be streamed from Youtube this evening at 6pm. Students are looking forward to being able to watch their PoL with you at home. It would be great to give other children of other families feedback through the comments whilst the video is live too.

Click here to access our presentation of learning

A reminder that students in our new Year 7 have a kit list for their Outward Bound adventure which begins on Tuesday 30th August. Students need to be arrive at school between 8.00am and 8.25am. The coach will depart later that morning.

Student must bring  £10 deposit with them on the morning which will be handed back to them at the end of their adventure if there is no loss or damage to equipment.

Any medication for students must be in the original box, clearly labelled with your child’s name and details of regularity of administration and dose. This includes:

• Inhalers
• Epipens
• Travel sickness pills
• Painkillers
• Antihistamines

Please get in contact with [email protected] if your child will be bringing medication and we can provide you with a self-administration or permission to administer form.

Specialist equipment such as walking boots and waterproofs will be provided by the centre. The kit list for students is listed below. Please ensure that your child has all of these items.

If you are having problems sourcing these please get in touch with our office via [email protected] . Older clothes are far better for the week as they will get wet and or muddy.

• 2 bin bags –  to store wet and dirty clothes
• 1 pair of trainers for getting wet – these trainers will definitely get wet so it is important that you have a second pair.
• Another pair of trainers to stay dry for day to day wear – these are likely to get muddy so preferably not new.
• 3 sweatshirts, jumpers, hoodies or fleeces – Fleeces are ideal as they dry quickly but any of the other items are a good substitute. You should include at least one warmer fleece for your expedition.
• 3 pairs of trousers – Lightweight trousers (not denim) such as walking trousers, leggings or tracksuit bottoms.
• 3 T-shirts – Aim for tops that cover shoulders from the sun.
• 1 long-sleeved base layer/top 
• 1 pair of shorts – Not denim
• 1 pair of nightwear/pyjamas
• 1 set of casual clothes for around the centre
• 7 sets of underwear including socks – This is a minimum number. Trainer socks aren’t recommended as they may cause blisters.
• At least 2 pairs of thick walking socks
• Sunhat, sunglasses, suncream – don’t bring expensive sunglasses, suncream needs to be at least factor 30.
• 1 set of warm hat and gloves
• At least 1 towel – Quick drying microfibre towels are great. You will need a towel for showering and on activities, so bring at least one.
• Watch with alarm if possible
• 1 set of swimwear plus t-shirt and shorts for use in water
• Toiletries – including soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, blister kit, plasters, insect repellent, lip salve, hand sanitiser, wet wipes, talcum powder (for your feet), etc.
• 1 pair of flip slops or sandals – optional