Parent and carers’ update – W/C Monday 20th March 2023

By Julie Mosley19th March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers

Even though last week was a shorter week for our students, they really packed in lots of learning. Students are challenged in every session and are expected to work hard, get smart and be kind. In every lesson I visit, students rise to this challenge and are pushing themselves and their peers to meet the high standards set. We continue to be really proud of our crew.

Here’s are just some of last week’s activities:

A group of our Year 7 students visited  our local partners Edberts House on Tuesday to find out about the work that they do in our community. This is part of their learning expedition Staying Alive with the guiding question ‘Is Survival Sufficient?’.

They shared their learning with the rest of Year 7 in Friday’s Community Meeting and were joined by Mark Harrison from Edberts House. Together they were able to remind G29 why their work on the food boxes is so important and discuss the brilliant work that is done by Edberts House.

Students in G29 continue to work hard on their scripts ready for their presentation of learning this week. As always, every student will take part in this presentation and craftsmanship and quality will be high on the agenda. I’m sure, like us, you can’t wait to see your child present their work on Friday 24th March at the King’s Hall in Newcastle University. 

We were delighted this week to receive an incredibly generous drum kit donation from the Scott Johnson Foundation. This foundation was set up in memory and honour of Scott, who tragically lost his life whilst working with Radiohead in Toronto in 2012. 

Scott’s wonderful parents, Sue and Ken Johnson travelled from Doncaster to deliver the kit then spent time with some of Y8 drummers talking music and setting up the kit. We are all extremely grateful to Ken and Sue and the Scott Johnson Foundation. We now have a drum kit which will beat for the lifetime of XP Gateshead.

This week:

Young Carers

On Monday we welcome Charlotte Osgerby from Carers Trust, Tyne and Wear. Charlotte will speak to both of our year groups about the work she does with Young Carers in Gateshead.

Final products and PoLs this week

We are now moving into our final weeks of this term and working hard on final products and getting ready for PoLs (presentation of learning). 

G28 Spanish final products are being filmed on Tuesday 21st March.

You can support your child over the next few days by getting them to practise their scripted question responses.

G29 HUMAN presentation of learning

The presentation of learning for ‘Do Your Bit’ takes place at 6pm on Friday 24th March at King’s Hall, Newcastle University.

More details will follow about how to let us know who is attending this event. However it is important to note that whilst we will transport students to the University on Friday afternoon, transport is not provided at the end of the event. We suggest using public transport to attend the event if this is possible for your family. Haymarket Metro station is just a short walk away from the University.

Like Student-Led Conferences, these events are important rites of passage for our students, and are part of a planned approach to develop character through public exhibition of learning. As is detailed in our home-school agreement, it is an expectation that at least one family member attends events like these for every child. Please speak to your child’s Crew Leader if you have any issues.

Extended Study and clubs

Our usual programme of Extended Study and clubs are running this week.

PE sessions

As usual G28 students (Y8) will need a PE kit for Tuesday, G29 students (Y7) will need a PE kit on Wednesday.

Looking Ahead:

G28 presentation of learning for ‘What is Power?’ will take place on  Thursday 30th March starting at 5.30pm. The venue for the presentation of learning will be Caedmon Hall in Gateshead which is part of the Central Library. 

Last day of term Friday 31st March – Easter Holidays with return to school 17th April. Please remember that, as always, our students finish at 1:30pm to allow staff to de-gunge and replenish rooms and teaching spaces ready for the Summer Term.

 

As always if you have any queries please get in contact with your child’s Crew Leader.

 

Julie Mosley

Co-Principal

Strike Action and Free School Meals

By Martin Said14th March 2023

If your child has free school meals and would like a packed lunch provided by the school on the day they are absent due to strike action, then please contact the school office by 8 am.

These will be available for collection from school reception if required, tomorrow (for year 7’s) or on Thursday (for year 8’s).

Beautiful work from Scarlett

By Martin Said14th March 2023

Scarlett represented XP Gateshead in the British Schools National Judo Championships at the weekend.

This is a national championship so the standard is incredibly high, and Scarlett won the bronze medal at the event which is a fantastic achievement.

Beautiful work Scarlett, or should we say 美しい作品 .

Weekly update for parents – w/c Tue 14th March 2023

By Julie Mosley14th March 2023

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back after a long weekend and my apologies for the delay in this week’s update.

As a Staff Crew we have worked hard during our two staff days planning curriculum. Teams have spent time collaboratively planning new expeditions for term 3 which will start after Easter with immersion weeks for both G29 and G28. We also took the time to look at our final three weeks of this term which include assessments and Presentations of Learning for all students. We are really looking forward to our PoLs and delighted that these will be taking place in professional surroundings. 

As a reminder, 

Year 7’s (G29) presentation of learning for their current HUMAN expedition, ‘Do Your Bit’ will be on Friday 24th March at Newcastle University in the King’s Hall – a space that was used as a military hospital during WWI.

Year 8’s (G28) presentation of learning for their current expedition ‘What is Power?’ will be on Thursday 30th March starting at 5.30pm. The venue for the presentation of learning will be Caedmon Hall in Gateshead which is part of the Central Library.

This week:

G29 Staying Alive – Fieldwork to Edberts House

A group of our Year 7 students are going to our local partners Edberts House today to find out about the work that they do in our community. This is part of their learning expedition Staying Alive with the guiding question ‘Is Survival Sufficient?’.

Edberts House will help us to pass on the food boxes that students will put together to families in need. The group of students will present back to the whole of Year 7 in this week’s community meeting on Friday.

Schedule for the week

Our programme of Extended Study and clubs are running this week. 

PE sessions – G28 students (Y8) will need a PE kit for Tuesday, there will be no PE sessions for G29 students (Y7) due to strike action.

NEU Strike Action – we are unable to open school for all students on both strike days so we are opening as follows:

  • Wednesday 15th March – Y8 only in school
  • Thursday 16th March – Y7 only in school

When students are not in school they can work independently on extended study tasks.

As usual, if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. 

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Julie Mosley

Co-Principal

Beautiful work from Mia

13th March 2023Martin Said

Mia has recently performed at Disneyland Paris with her dance group Happy Feet Dance.

Mia and her friends danced professionally with a polished performance. We’re so proud that Mia shone bright on that stage. Mia has danced with this group since she was just 3 years old! What a great opportunity.

Beautiful work Mia!

Fieldwork to Heworth today is cancelled

By Emmy Tatters9th March 2023

Due to the deterioration of the weather forecast for this afternoon, we have decided to cancel the fieldwork to Heworth Cemetery this afternoon.

Students can still choose to stay at school until 4.30pm if they choose.

Accelerated Reader Reboot!

By Emmy Tatters8th March 2023

As was mentioned in Mrs Mosley’s parent update, we had a World Book Day reboot last week on Accelerated Reader. Accelerated Reader is a programme used to actively hone and develop reading skills. Students are tested termly to establish their reading age and are allocated a ZPD score. This score then guides them to books that are accessible but also challenging and students complete quizzes to check their comprehension.

We reiterated our expectations around AT LEAST 20 minutes of reading per day. We listened to student voice on what some barriers were to reading and have taken steps to remove these barriers. Some students were concerned that members of their crew weren’t reading because there were no consequences. At XPG we push and challenge students to be the best version of themselves and we feel strongly that reading regularly is a part of this. It is proven that regular readers achieve greater academic success, as well as having a host of mental health and cultural benefits.

Support for reluctant readers

For this reason, we have shared a ‘stepped’ approach for students who are not making sufficient progress with their reading (as measured by quizzes passed) which will be reviewed weekly. Students will only move onto this stepped system if crew leaders have concerns that a student is not completing the expected 20 minutes a day of reading extended study.

Step 1: Crew Leader will have a 1:1 conversation with the student to set daily or weekly reading goals (most likely a certain number of pages to be read.)

Step 2: If the student does not meet this goal, crew leaders will contact parents for support and request sanctions at home. For example, no playstation until they have completed 20 minutes of reading. 

Step 3: If the student continues to not make the progress we would expect, students will be directed to a reading specific extended study for the remainder a half term. Here we will try and help to build good reading habits, students will have the opportunity to read aloud to a member of staff and discuss and make predictions about what they are reading. 

Because our students form habits around Getting Smart and taking responsibility for their own learning, a number of students have already identified themselves that they struggle to find the motivation to read and have been asking crew leaders to support them by setting them reading goals – what proactive, mature and responsible students we have!

Celebrating great readers! 

However, the excitement came with the incentives we have introduced. Students who have either passed 4 quizzes in a term, or read 100,000 words in a term will be entered into a lottery to win a £20 voucher! There will be a G28 and a G29 winner.

Students can be in the draw numerous times and even since last week we have seen the list of eligible students grow tremendously!

A big shout out to the students who have already made the draw:

Students still have 3.5 weeks to make it into the lottery so please encourage your child to get reading and remind them to quiz!

We appreciate your support with ensuring that all students are reading regularly and if you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with your child’s crew leader.