Dear Parents/Carers

It’s been another busy and exciting week at XPG. Our students have been working hard both in and outside of sessions as we continue to build our community and strengthen our character values of courage, respect, craftsmanship and quality, integrity and, above all, compassion.

This week immersion came to the end for both year groups and after lots of wondering and suggestions, students in G28 and G29 enjoyed the big reveal to find out their expedition guiding questions.

Our G28 students are now well underway with their new expedition, Being Human. The guiding question for this expedition is ‘What does it mean to be Human?’

Our G29 students found out about their first expedition on Thursday. The expedition is called ‘From the Ground Up’ and our students will be studying the guiding question ‘What do the communities of North East England owe to the miners?’

Our staff were also working hard this week and, as well as their usual planning and teaching, they successfully completed their Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) qualification. We are really proud now that as a staff, we have 12 members of our team fully qualified as MHFA. The course enables staff  to recognise mental ill health and help find the support required. 

We care deeply about our students safety and wellbeing at XP Gateshead and this includes families too! As a group of schools in XP Trust, we have created a website XP Cares: Wellbeing Hub. We hope that this is a useful site for both students, parents and carers and a ‘one stop shop’ for your wellbeing needs, making it as easy as possible to find the support available to you. 

This week: 

Monday 19th September – Bank Holiday

Back to school – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 

Please note that PE sessions will resume this week:

G28 students (Y8) will need a PE kit for Tuesday 20th September.

G29 students (Y7) will need a PE kit on Wednesday 19th September. 

Friday 23rd September – Staff Development Day

Students are not expected to be in school.

Extended Study 

Extended study sessions started well this week. Sessions will run until 4:30pm every day except Friday when all students leave the site at 3:15pm. Like all of our after school provision, students who attend extended study must attend full sessions until 4:30pm. Please contact your son/daughter’s Crew Leader if there is an issue with this.

Our extended study timetable is as follows:

Initially G29 students will be set more Times Table Rockstars, with less Hegarty Maths Memri set to account for this.

For full details of our rationale for extended study, please click here.

Clubs

Please note that because of the shortened three day week, we have decided not to start our extra-curricular clubs (lunchtime and after school) this week. Clubs will start on Tuesday 27th September and we will be publishing a full schedule next week. 

 

Reminders

Daily kit list

As always, students need to bring a school bag with:

• A filled water bottle
• Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
• A fully charged iPad 
• Headphones – ideally not expensive ones
• A healthy snack for break (no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks, nut products)
• A notebook

Looking forward, dates for your diary: 

Monday 26th September – Staff Development Day.

Students are not expected to be in school.

XPG Open Evenings for prospective students, 12th and 13th October. 

We will be asking for student involvement in these evenings – they are our ambassadors and our best advertisements! More details will follow as we get closer to the events.  

 

Thank you as always for your ongoing support. 

Julie Mosley

Co-Principal

Dear Parents/Carers

Another great week for us at XPG as we brought all of our students together in school this week. We are building a great community, with staff and students going the extra mile this week to make sure everyone was settled, felt supported and cared for in our school. Our shared responsibility of ‘getting each other to the top of the mountain’ has really been apparent in the compassion shown by all.

Our G29 students spent the first part of last week working with their Crews getting familiar with routines and considering what Crew looks like in school. We launched our first Crew Read ‘Seedfolks’ with them which will support with their understanding around what makes a successful community and iPads were distributed along with initial Google training which will continue this term to ensure our students make best use of the collaborative technology we have. On Thursday G29 started immersion into their new learning expedition and enjoyed a great day of fieldwork at the National Coal Museum on Friday.

This week G29 students will continue their immersion which builds curiosity and background knowledge in readiness for the first case studies. Year 7 students will find out the guiding question to their new expedition later this week.

Our G28 students demonstrated great leadership skills last week and really supported us in settling in our new Y7 students. We couldn’t have been more proud of them. 

G28 have been fully immersed in their new learning expedition last week and will find out the guiding question for the expedition tomorrow. There has been some brilliant thinking around what this could be in sessions so we look forward to the big unveil tomorrow!

Our week ahead 

Extended Study

From Monday 12th, we will offer extended study sessions until 4:30pm. 

Sessions will run every day except Friday when all students leave the site at 3:15pm. Teachers will start to set extended study this week and sessions after school allow space and time for students to complete extended study with the support of peers and staff on hand.

Please note that our extra-curricular clubs (lunchtime and after school) will not start until next week. More details will follow on this.

Mental Health Training

As part of our commitment in providing the best support for our young people, all of our staff will complete Day 2 of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training this week. Following this we will have 11 fully trained MHFA staff in school, this will be a real achievement and acknowledges the importance we place on our Narrative for Success at XP Trust.

PE this week

As part of Mr Devitt’s ongoing professional development he is out of school this week. As such there are no PE sessions this week. PE sessions will return in the week beginning 19th September.

Reminders

Immunisation letters

All consent forms need to be completed and returned to Crew Leaders by tomorrow. 

Daily kit list

As always, students need to bring a school bag with:

• A filled water bottle
• Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
• A fully charged iPad 
• Headphones – ideally not expensive ones
• A healthy snack for break (no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks, nut products)

It would be great if students could also bring in a notebook and a reading book. This won’t become essential kit yet to allow time for students to gather these.

Looking forward, dates for your diary

Monday 19th September – Bank Holiday

Friday 23rd September and Monday 26th September – Staff Training Days

 

Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

XP Gateshead would like to pass on our condolences and pay our respects to the Queen’s family on the sad news of her passing. She was a remarkable woman who performed her duties with grace and dignity. Queen Elizabeth brought a sense of constancy through a changing times and the world is a lesser place without her. 

Thank you for your service Ma’am.

Dear Parents/Carers

What a first week back we have had!

Our G29 students had a fantastic week at Ullswater finding out what crew means. I hope they returned to you parents full of tales of their outward bound adventures. It was incredible to see them make new friends, begin to form strong bonds with their crew and crew leaders, and rise to the challenges 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. To listen to their presentations on ‘What does it mean to be Crew?’ in our final community meeting on Friday at the summit of Hallin Fell was something really special.

Our G28 students returned to school stronger than ever and spent a fantastic first week considering the question ‘How can we support each other to lead the learning of our new Year 7 Crew?’. Crew Leaders have been blown away by the quality of student work and the depth of thinking. There is no doubt that our pioneering 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 great day of fieldwork in Gateshead and Newcastle which was planned fully by our students with their crews.

We could not have had a stronger start to our school year and can’t wait to welcome all students tomorrow.

 

Our week ahead 

G29 students (Year 7) 

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. 

They will find out their new classes on Wednesday and will have their first PE session on Wednesday (so will need their PE kit).

Immersion for their new learning expedition will start on Thursday and they will carry out fieldwork on Friday at the National Coal Museum in Wakefield (a packed lunch will be required on Friday.)

We will hand out iPads to G29 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. It is really important that the screen protector is applied as soon as you take the iPad out of the box.

G28 students (Year 8)

Students will begin a week-long immersion for their new learning expedition this week. 

They will have their first PE session on Friday so will need their PE kit.

 

Start times and kit list

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. There are staff available if any student needs to stay later than 3:15pm, please contact your child’s crew leader or school office [email protected]  if this is required. Students must leave school by 3.30pm on Friday.

As always, students need to bring a school bag with the following kit :

• A filled water bottle
• Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
• A fully charged iPad 
• Headphones – ideally not expensive ones, for example here

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 are to 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.

Lunches

On Monday, we will be sending out letters regarding ParentPay for our new students. 

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. We think that our meals are very good value at £2.50 per day. Our school dinners are very popular with our students, thanks to our wonderful cook Suzanne. 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 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 parents who have been sharing their XPG knowledge and expertise with our new G29 parents. Together we are definitely stronger #WeAreCrew.

 

Best wishes

Julie Mosley

Co-Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

We hope you have had a refreshing summer break and are looking forward to the start of our new term. Below are the arrangements for our first day back to school which is Tuesday August 30th.

Update on arrangements for the start of term (Staggered start)

Year 7 (G29)

Students should turn up as previously communicated between 8.00am and 8.25am. They will be met at the school gate and will go to their first crew session where they will be briefed about their outward bound experience. 

Please note there are to be no nut products in packed lunches – this is especially important as we have students in this cohort who are highly allergic to nut products.

Year 8 (G28)

Having reviewed our arrangements for the start of term and as a change to previous communications, Year 8 students should arrive at 10.30am on Tuesday 30th. This is to allow G29 students to be accommodated and to get away on their Ullswater trip.

 

We will resume a more comprehensive parental update next week and in the meantime any queries to [email protected] in the first instance.

 

We are looking forward to seeing you all again.

 

Best wishes

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to our penultimate week of term. This week students will be completing ecology work in our local green corridor at Windy Nook. They will also be working on answering the guiding question “What is our relationship with the natural world?” which is from our current expedition – What a Wonderful World. In addition students will be working on their presentation of learning which will take place on the evening of 19th July at 5.30pm.

This week:

• Monday Visitor from the states –  We have a visitor from the States, Chris Dolgos. Chris is a teacher in an Expeditionary learning (EL) school in Little Rock. We look forward to meeting him and giving him an Ambassador tour of our school.
• Tuesday ecology fieldwork – Windy Nook. Students will be working in the field as ecologists with an expert from the ‘Friends of Windy Nook Nature Reserve’. We will be out of school for two hours, so all students will have lunch as normal .Please make sure that your child has:
  • Suitable footwear
  • Water
  • Sunscreen
  • A cap or hat.
• PE will be on Wednesday  this week. Please note that PE will be on Wednesday this week and students should bring their PE kit on this day.
• Warm weather – Please make sure your child brings a water bottle to school and also a cap or hat if they suffer from sunstroke, and/or sunscreen if they burn easily. This is to cover outside breaks and lunchtimes although PE lessons are also increasingly outside. 
• Parental Feedback – Thankyou to all our parents who have already completed our parental feedback questionnaire – If you have not already done so you can find the link here clicking here. We would really love to know what you think about our school (what we do well and what we could do better) and in particular would like to get feedback on our student SLCs.

Upcoming Events:

A reminder there is a G28 parents’ calendar here.

• Summer Science exam – students will sit a summer science assessment which will cover all of the science they have learned from September. This will take place on Monday 18th July. We have set extended study which supports revision for this assessment over the course of the next couple of weeks. Students have a “learning” map on google classroom to support and help structure their revision.
• All of our staff will complete Day 2 of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training on 18th July. Mr Lovatt and Mr Said will be working with students on this day and along with their summer science exam students will be working on their presentation of learning (PoL) and also their final product from our current expedition.
• The Presentation of Learning for our current learning expedition will take place on the evening of Tue 19th July at XP Gateshead. We will be sending more details in this coming week.

COVID updates 

We continue to ask parents to be vigilant, especially with the current rise in cases, and to test students if they or other family members of the family have symptoms. With your support we will continue to test students in school if they present with symptoms during the school day. We will also continue to keep windows open and to ensure our building is as ventilated as possible.

We do still have a limited supply of testing kits, so if you are in need and find it difficult to obtain tests, please do speak to your son or daughter’s Crew Leader.

As we have previously mentioned, we will make a decision on whether our final Presentation of Learning can be an in person event in as timely manner as possible. We will get back to you on that this week.

No Nuts in packed lunches please

We have students with severe allergies to nuts. Please ensure that no nuts or nut products are contained in packed lunches. Thank you in advance for your support with this.

As usual if there are any queries please do get in contact with your child’s Crew Leader.

 Many thanks

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to week four of our final half-term at XP Gateshead.

This is a big week for us as we welcome our new cohort of “Year 7”  (G29) students who will be joining us on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week for their transition days. Our current students will be acting as ambassadors on these days and it would be great if they could wear their XP tops to present our school in the best possible light. 

We are really proud of our current students who have volunteered to support in crews and classes this week and who have organised lunchtime clubs and activities for our young visitors.

Can I also take a moment to say what a delight and a humbling experience it was to listen to our students as they completed their SLCs (Student Led Conferences) this week. We were all completely blown away by the quality of SLCs and the way in which students could talk confidently about their work and progress. Thank you as well to parents who supported SLCs and contributed really great questions in advance for students to respond to. 

 

This week:

• Monday 27th June is staff development day – students are not expected to be in school and should return as normal on Tuesday 28th June.
• Transition Days Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th June – on these days we will be joined by our new cohort of students who will experience “crew” for the first time and will learn about their new school. Our current students will be acting as Ambassadors and have volunteered to support in crew and lessons and have also prepared lunchtime activities for our young visitors. Please note that there will be increased “drop off” traffic on these days so for our existing parents it may be a good idea to drop off and pick up just along the road or round the corner.
• Warm weather – As the weather is starting to get quite warm. (Summer is coming !) Please make sure your child brings a water bottle to school and also a cap or hat if they suffer from sunstroke, and/or sunscreen if they burn easily. This is to cover outside breaks and lunchtimes although PE lessons are also increasingly outside. We will issue kit lists for any field work.
• Thursday 30th June – Book Launch – We are really excited to be launching the first published  book written by our students. This will take place at Seven Stories on the Quayside which is appropriate as this is the national centre for children’s books. Our students will be transported to Seven Stories after school on Thursday and we have asked that parents arrive at about 5pm to pick them up and stay for a coffee/chat in the cafe at Seven Stories.
• Visitor from the States – we look forward to welcoming Michelle Nevarre to XPG on Wednesday 29th June. Michelle is Principal of Polaris School in Chicago and she will be accompanied by Gwyn and Neil from the Trust.
• Parental Feedback – Please remember to complete our parents feedback form by clicking here. We would really love to know what you think about our school (what we do well and what we could do better) and in particular would like to get feedback on our SLCs.

 

Upcoming Events:

A reminder there is a G28 parents’ calendar here.

• There is a fantastic  opportunity for students to get involved in our promotion of From The Ground Up at the Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday 9th July. See Mr Said’s post for more details .
• The Presentation of Learning for our current learning expedition will take place on the evening of Tue 19th July. We will be sending more details on this in the coming weeks.

 

No Nuts in packed lunches please

We have students in our new cohort with a severe allergy to nuts and so we need to ask that no nuts or nut products be used in packed lunches from this point onwards. Thank you in advance for your support with this.

Extended Study this week

We will be setting extended study as normal this week and extended study sessions after school will resume as normal this week

PE sessions this week  – Friday 

Please note that PE will be on Friday for our current students (G28 cohort)

COVID testing 

We have decided to remove the requirement to test students each Sunday evening given the current low level in cases and additional staffing that we now have available. This is in line with Government guidelines, however we would ask parents to continue to be vigilant and to test students if they or other family members of the family have symptoms. With your support we will continue to test students in school if they present with symptoms during the school day. We will also continue to keep windows open and to ensure our building is as ventilated as possible.

We do still have a limited supply of testing kits, so if you are in need and find it difficult to obtain tests, please do speak to your son or daughter’s Crew Leader.

As usual if there are any queries please do get in contact with your child’s Crew Leader.

Many thanks

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to week three of our final half-term at XP Gateshead.

Students are continuing with our current expedition  – What a Wonderful World with the Guiding question: What is our relationship with the natural world? They will be completing case study two which explores  our relationship with the natural world and the notion of interdependence. We begin to understand that we will need to change our relationship with nature if we are to continue to survive as a species.

This week:

• Our new staff joined us last week and began their induction. This week they will continue to experience what an expedition is like from the point of view of students so they have a better understanding of expeditionary learning.  Next week they will be taking part in our transition days and helping us to welcome our new cohort of students.
• Student-Led Conferences for your children will continue this week and I have to say what an absolute delight it has been to hear students talk so fluently and with such enthusiasm about their work, habits of work and learning and academic progress. We are looking forward to listening to students this week.
• Staff development days are on 24th and 27th June. Students are not expected to be in school on these days.

Upcoming Events:

A reminder there is a G28 parents’ calendar here

• Our book launch for From The Ground Up is on 30th June. We have seen the final printed copies and the book is stunning! More details can be found here including a Google Form to complete.
• Transition for our new cohort of students joining us in August. Year 6 students will be joining us in school on 28th and 29th June. We are all looking forward to welcoming our new students, our G28 students will have a key role to play in these days as you would expect.
• The Presentation of Learning for our current learning expedition will take place on the evening of Tue 19th July. We will be sending more details on this in the coming weeks.

COVID testing 

We have decided to remove the requirement to test students each Sunday evening given the current low level in cases and additional staffing that we now have available. This is in line with Government guidelines, however we would ask parents to continue to be vigilant and to test students if they or other family members of the family have symptoms. With your support we will continue to test students in school if they present with symptoms during the school day. We will also continue to keep windows open and to ensure our building is as ventilated as possible.

We do still have a limited supply of testing kits, so if you are in need and find it difficult to obtain tests, please do speak to your son or daughter’s Crew Leader.

No Nuts in packed lunches please

We have students in our new cohort with a severe allergy to nuts and so we need to ask that no nuts or nut products be used in packed lunches from this point onwards. Thank you in advance for your support with this.

Extended Study this week

We will be setting reduced extended study in this week to allow students to continue to prepare for their upcoming SLCs which take place this week and next. There will be no extended study sessions or after school clubs this week or next due to staff involvement in SLCs.

PE sessions this week – Tuesday

Please note that PE this week will be on Tuesday. 

 

Staff Development Days – Friday 24th and Monday 27th June

Please note – Students will not be in school on these days and will return as normal on Tuesday 28th of June.

We have staff development days this Friday and next Monday. This Friday our current staff will undergo training in Mental Health First Aid so we can better support our students and help to keep them safe. Our new staff will be planning for our Transition days. On Monday 27th All staff will be preparing resources and planning for our next expeditions to begin in Year 8.

 

As usual if there are any queries please do get in contact with your child’s Crew Leader.

 Many thanks

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to week two of our final half-term at XP Gateshead.

Students are continuing with our current expedition  – What a Wonderful World with the Guiding question: What is our relationship with the natural world?

This week:

• Our new staff join us, starting this week with an expedition “slice”, so that they know what this looks and feels like from a student point of view. Your children will see lots of our new staff this week.  
• Student-Led Conferences for your children are starting this week and we look forward to listening to students talk to parents about their pledges, academic progress and HOWLs. 

Upcoming Events:

A reminder there is a G28 parents’ calendar here

• Our book launch for From The Ground Up. We have seen the proof that has gone to the printers and this is looking stunning! We are looking to organise this for the evening of 30th June and will be sending our more detailed information this week. Apologies that we have not been able to send more detailed information any earlier but this has been reliant on the book being printed and bound, which is now confirmed.
• Transition for our new students joining us in August. Year 6 students will be joining us in school on 28th and 29th June. We are all looking forward to welcoming our new students, our G28 students will have a key role to play in these days as you would expect.
• The Presentation of Learning for our current learning expedition will take place on the evening of Tue 19th July. We will be sending more details on this in the coming weeks.

COVID testing 

We have decided to remove the requirement to test students each Sunday evening given the current low level in cases and additional staffing that we now have available.

This is in line with Government guidelines, however we would ask parents to continue to be vigilant and to test students if they or other family members of the family have symptoms.

With your support we will continue to test students in school if they present with symptoms during the school day. We will also continue to keep windows open and to ensure our building is as ventilated as possible.

We do still have a limited supply of testing kits, so if you are in need and find it difficult to obtain tests, please do speak to your son or daughter’s Crew Leader.

Extended Study this week

We will be setting reduced extended study in this week to allow students to continue to prepare for their upcoming SLCs which take place this week and next. There will be no extended study sessions or after school clubs this week or next due to staff involvement in SLCs.

PE sessions this week – Friday

Please note that PE this week will be on Friday. This is to accommodate induction for our new staff.

Google Forms for SLC preparation

Thanks to those parents that have completed the Google Form following the snapshots that were shared. We really do need these to be completed so that your child can use these to prepare for their SLCs. Crew Leaders will be in contact with you if the Google Form has not yet been completed.

As usual if there are any queries please do get in contact with your child’s Crew Leader.

 

Many thanks

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to our final half-term of the academic year

We will be continuing with our new expedition  – What a Wonderful World with the Guiding question: What is our relationship with the natural world?

There are so many exciting things happening this half-term:

• Our new staff join us, starting this week with an outdoor adventure together to learn  what it means to be Crew. Your children will see lots of our new staff from next week.
• Student-Led Conferences for your children starting in the fortnight commencing 13th June.
• The book launch for From The Ground Up. We have seen the proof that has gone to the printers and this is looking stunning! More info on this very soon.
• Transition for our new students joining us in August. Year 6 students will be joining us in school on 28th and 29th June.
• The Presentation of Learning for our current learning expedition will take place on Tue 19th July.

COVID testing – A reminder to test your children this evening

Please make sure you complete a Lateral Flow Test with your child this Sunday evening and complete our online form as usual for this evening.

Whilst Covid infections are still falling in the community, given the size of our setting this really helps us to keep everyone safe and for our school to remain open.

If you require any extra LFT kits please let us know. 

We will continue to keep doors and windows open for ventilation so students are advised to bring multiple layers to school to keep warm. This is how we look after each other – #wearecrew

Extended Study this week

Señorita Quested, Miss Tatters and Mr Walters are joining our new colleagues on their outdoor adventure this week as they have not yet had this important part of their training. We are therefore operating with fewer staff in school this week. This means that we are only able to run our extended study sessions after school but not our usual sports clubs.

PE sessions this week – Extra session this Thursday

In light of the above, students will have an additional PE session this week. For both classes this additional session of PE will be on Thursday. So all students have PE on both Tuesday and Thursday this week.

Google Forms for SLC preparation

Thanks to those parents that have completed the Google Form following the snapshots that were shared. We really do need these to be completed so that your child can use these to prepare for their SLCs. Crew Leaders will be in contact with you if the Google Form has not yet been completed.

As usual if there are any queries please do get in contact with your child’s Crew Leader.

 

Many thanks

 

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to our final week before the half-term holiday

We have been continuing with our new expedition  – What a Wonderful World with the Guiding question: What is our relationship with the natural world?

This week we are all very excited about our fieldwork on Friday (23rd) where we will be exploring our local “green” corridor through a “geocaching” activity. Students will be outside for most of the day so will need:

• Comfortable shoes for walking
• Appropriate clothing for the weather, the forecast is currently fair and mild
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Water bottle
• Regular school day kit in their school bag

We will be combining this event with crew picnics so don’t be surprised if your son/daughter has asked for a couple of extra items to be added to the shopping list this week!

Students will be leaving school at 2.15pm this Friday (see de-gunge notice)

Crew picnics

Crew picnics have been organised for Friday 23rd and take place when we go out to explore our local green corridor. These have been organised by students in their crews and your children may have already asked you about the food they have chosen to bring along as part of  their crew contribution this Friday. Please contact crew leaders if this raises any questions,  issues or concerns.

Student Assessment Information and SLCs – Dates for your diaries!

Last week we shared updated assessment snapshots with students, giving information around their HoWLs and academic progress.

Students are updating their pledges at the moment. We will then share these pledges and assessment information snapshots with you at the end of this week.

The next set of SLCs (Student-Led Conferences) will be taking place in the fortnight starting 13th June. In this SLC, students will show you evidence of how they are working on their pledges.

You will be able to book an appointment for your child’s SLC from this week. At this time you will also be able to ask your child questions about their assessment information snapshot. Your child will answer these questions as part of their SLC too.

As part of this process, students will be reflecting on their HoWLs every week in Crew on Thoughtful Thursdays.

Visitors from Holland

We are excited to be hosting 14 Dutch Teachers on Monday afternoon who are on an organised tour of innovative schools in the North of England. They will be joining us from 1.30pm on Monday afternoon and will hear from myself, Mr Said and a panel of students who will share and discuss their work. We will be making use of the dining room for their visit which is a large and well ventilated area and we will ensure there is minimal disruption to student learning.

Transition meetings with new families

We will be continuing 1:1 transition meetings with our new families this week and are looking forward to meeting new students and their parents. These meetings are opportunities to find out more about our new students who will be starting in September and for our families to ask questions to find out a bit more about XP Gateshead. In time, our newest families will be added to our Facebook Group so please do make them feel welcome. Our community is strong because we are crew.

New Staff appointments 

We have successfully appointed to our admin position last week and welcomed Faye Dobson to our crew. Faye will be joining us on June 6th initially in a part time capacity as she learns about our systems etc and then will be full time form the start of next academic year. We are now fully staffed for next year.

AR (Accelerated Reader)

A reminder that our students should be reading their  AR books for between 20 – 30 minutes each day and crew leaders will be checking on progress every Tuesday in crew. For students to be great learners, first they must be strong readers. Please encourage your children to talk to you about what they are reading and support them to read on a daily basis. We have been really impressed with the range of books students have chosen and will be looking forward to seeing how they do on their first book “quizzes”.

Lateral Flow Testing

Please  make sure you complete a Lateral Flow Test with your child this Sunday evening and complete our online form as usual. We will also be asking you to complete a LFT on the Sunday (5th June) evening before your child returns after the half term holiday.

Whilst Covid infections are still falling in the community, given the size of our setting this really helps us to keep everyone safe and for our school to remain open.

If you require any extra LFT kits please let us know. 

We will continue to keep doors and windows open for ventilation so students are advised to bring multiple layers to school to keep warm. This is how we look after each other – #wearecrew

Guidance for isolation following a positive test

Any student who has a positive Covid-19 test result should stay at home and avoid contact with people for 3 days. As long as they are well they may return to school following the three days. There is no longer a requirement for students to test negative on the day when they return to school.

2.15pm finish – Friday 23rd

As usual we will be finishing slightly earlier this Friday to allow for “de-gunge” and restocking of classrooms in readiness for the new term. This Friday since we are also out and about geocaching, students will leave school at 2.15pm

It has been a fantastic half-term and there is much to look forward to after the holiday including the launch of our students’ first book

Thank you for your continued support and have a great holiday. As usual if you have any questions please contact crew leaders in the first instance.

Kind regards

Mark Lovatt

Principal