Post inside this category will show up on the front page
Unfortunately due to a frozen pitch, the matches this evening have been cancelled. Students can still choose to stay in school until 4.30 pm this afternoon as usual.
Please call our office if you need to pass on a message to your child.
Find out more and apply here to #JoinOurCrew
As part of an expert session with Commonwealth War Graves Commission on Thursday, students are carrying out some fieldwork at St Mary’s Church at Heworth.
We will be walking down to the church after lunch and will return to school for 3:15.
The forecast for the afternoon has a high chance of snow so it is important that students are dressed for cold and wet weather. Footwear will be particularly important with us walking down and spending time outside in the churchyard.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance.
As you are aware, the NEU teachers union have balloted and agreed further strike action on two consecutive days next week. As a leadership team, we have continued to do our best to minimise disruption to your child’s education during strike action.Â
Two consecutive days of strike action presents additional difficulties in maintaining efficient and effective provision and WE ARE UNABLE to open the school for ALL STUDENTS on these days.Â
Our plans are as follows:
When students are not in school they can work independently on extended study tasks.
You will now have found out if you have been offered a place for your child at XP Gateshead. Congratulations to those families that have been offered a place! We are really excited about your child joining us and being part of our community. We look forward to them joining our Crew in August 2023.
You will no doubt have lots of questions, but rest assured, all of these will be answered over the coming months of transition. At XP Gateshead we spend a lot of time getting to know our students and families prior to starting with us and we have a range of transition activities planned to allow this to happen.
Mr Said will be working as the Phase Leader in Y7 alongside our team of Crew Leaders.Â
You will soon receive a ‘Welcome Pack’ as the start of our transition. This welcome pack will include important information, and will also begin the process of gathering information from you.
In the meantime, there is no need to do anything more – other than perhaps explore our website. We will be in contact soon.
Very best wishes
XP Gateshead
Students have worked hard this week both in and outside of sessions. It has been great to see so many students attending extended study sessions this week and I look forward to seeing more. Extended study is set in all subjects each week so after school sessions are a great way for students to work in a supportive environment alongside peers to ensure all deadlines are met. It also takes away any arguments at home if work is completed here at the end of the day!
As part of extended study, we expect all of our students to read for 20-30 minutes every day. This week Miss Tatters ‘rebooted’ Accelerated Reader with G28 and G29 after feedback from parents, staff and students. Clear expectations have been shared with students and a termly reading challenge set.Â
This week’s Crew and Expedition updates give an insight into how our curriculum at XP Gateshead takes the national standards and develops these into a curriculum with social justice at its heart.
Activism is one of our design principles at XP, and you can see in the work that students are doing that we address important values such as tolerance, respect and democracy and ask our students to produce beautiful work. Through this out students are agents for positively improving themselves, their community and the wider world;
Over the last few weeks, Y7 crews have been researching suitable people after whom to name their crews – people who have achieved great things and who display our character traits of courage, integrity, respect, craftsmanship and quality, and above all compassion. This week, students presented their contenders to the rest of their crew and final voting took place.Â
In Friday’s community meeting new crew names were announced.Â
Our G29 crews are
So Emma Watson, Martin Luther King, Richard Attenborough and Florence Nightingale stand alongside our G28 crew’s namesakes Anne Frank, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Stanton.Â
Our Y8 crews have been looking at which charity they want to support. Students have been putting together their proposals and pitching to the rest of their crew. There has been some really sensitive discussions with lots of crew support as students have shared their personal stories around choice of charities.
Next week, G28 crews will announce their chosen charities and will start planning future awareness and fundraising events to support their charity.
G29 – Do your bit
This last week students in G29 have been digging deep into some of the language of official communications in Liverpool which dehumanised ethnic minorities around the time of the Race Riots of 1919. This is part of their third Case Study, which looks at the treatment of women and ethnic minorities following their important role in The Great War. Students have also started writing their creative narratives which are written from the perspective of lesser heard voices of the war. This writing will be shared in their PoL on Fri 24th March.
G29 Staying Alive
G289 Students have been looking at energy stores and transfers and are developing their understanding of the concept of energy, useful language when discussing energy and the important principle of the conservation of energy. They will connect this to their wider work in supporting local charities in this expedition by considering the impact of the cost of living crisis and fuel poverty in the UK today.
G28 What is Power?
Students in G28 have been learning about forces, an important building block in being able to explain the scientific meaning of the word power. They have also been starting to learn how to work with wood as a resistant material to build backdrops for the set for their performance of Macbeth.
Students have also been learning about the feudal system, and the power structures within Medieval society, as a precursor to the peasants’ revolt, which speaks to those without power making a stand for their rights as citizens.
This week students in G28 have also been refining designs for their digital stencil graffiti artwork, all of which highlight causes that are important to the students and give voice to those that have less power in society. These designs will be collated in a set of postcards which will be able to be purchased from the school. Students will decide this week where they would like to donate the funds raised. We had a beautiful community meeting on Friday where students discussed the potential options for where our work could make a difference.
Our usual programme of Extended Study and clubs are running this week.
As usual G28 students (Y8) will need a PE kit for Tuesday, G29 students (Y7) will need a PE kit on Wednesday.
Staff days
A reminder that Friday 10th and Monday 13th March are our staff days this term. Students are not expected in school on these days. See link here for this year’s term dates.Â
As normal, students are not expected to be in school on this day.
As you may be aware, the NEU teachers union have balloted and agreed further strike action on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March 2023. As a leadership team, we will do our best to minimise disruption to child’s education and we will update you in due course.
As usual, if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance.Â
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Julie Mosley
Co-Principal
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across our Trust this week!
For more stories, make sure you visit xptrust.org/stories
#WeAreCrew
We had a good first week back to school and our students have settled back into learning.Â
A focus for the whole community this week has been respectful communication. Respect is one of our character traits and this, along with compassion, is central to how we communicate with each other.Â
At XP Gateshead we have a zero-tolerance approach to sexism, racism, homophobia and sexual harassment. This behaviour is never acceptable and it will not be passed off as ‘banter’, ‘just having a laugh’ or ‘part of growing up’.Â
We spent time on Friday in our community meetings discussing with students their ideas on what was and what was not respectful communication. We will combine all of this work and produce an agreed XPG student charter for how we communicate with each other respectfully. Our charter will be shared on our website when complete.
We are incredibly lucky to have a great support team here at XPG. We have an amazing cleaning team from Gateshead services who work behind the scenes from 6am every morning. Karen and Carol are a key part of our crew who show craftsmanship and quality everyday and really care about our school, staff and students. Our catering team, Suzanne and Cheryl are another two members of the crew who do an amazing job for us all on a daily basis, caring deeply about all staff and students. Look at what we enjoyed this week to celebrate Pancake Day on Tuesday and our Friday treats to get ready for the big game this weekend:
On a final note of appreciation, I’d like to thank the mystery family who sent a special delivery our way this week for the whole team. It was very much appreciated by us all!
School will be fully open on Tuesday even though some of our staff will be on strike. We respect the right for our staff to strike and we support their action.Â
There will be no PE on Tuesday for Year 8.
Our usual programme of Extended Study and clubs are running this week. Please check in with your son/daughter about their extended study and make sure that they are up to date with their work and meeting deadlines. Daily reading must form part of their plans and we expect all students to read their Accelerated Reader texts for 20-30 mins each day. They should be regularly quizzing on Accelerated Reader as they complete their books, please ask them about this.
Staff Development Days
A reminder that we have two staff development days this half term: Friday 10th and Monday 13th March. As normal, students are not expected to be in school on these days.
As usual if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance.Â
Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Julie Mosley
Co-Principal
Happy Friday! 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
We are delighted to confirm that Year 8’s 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 presentation will be anchored around an abridged performance of Macbeth by our students, with insights from students about connections to other subjects that they studied between those scenes.
In preparation for their presentation of learning, students will be going to see a production of Macbeth at Durham Gala Theatre.
This production is a matinee so students will travel to Durham by coach for a 1.00pm performance, and then we expect them to be back in school between 4.00 – 4.30pm. Students should arrive at school for the normal time that morning and will need their regular kit.
The age recommendation for the performance is 14 years plus. However we are confident that our students are mature enough to deal with the challenging themes in this interpretation of the play, having already read it and given the work that we do in Crew.
The website for the performance states that:
“this performance includes flashing imagery and lighting effects; loud noises included recorded gunshot; strong language; scenes featuring moments, descriptions and images of violence and use of firearms; simulated smoking and a reference to child abuse. If you would benefit from more specific information about emotive content and themes, please contact [email protected]”
If you would like more information on this interpretation of the play you can contact the address above. As stated above this fieldwork is really important for the expedition, both as a point of equity for our students in terms of having experience of a theatrical performance and as part of their current learning expedition.
Of course you can contact me if you have any questions too.
Many thanks
Martin Said
