Dear Parents/Guardians

Monday 14th March is a staff development day and students return to school on Tuesday 15th March at the normal time.

Accelerated Reader

Students this week will begin to choose books from our recently launched Accelerated Reader platform. This is part of our reading strategy at XP Gateshead and students have already completed a baseline assessment which will be used to steer children towards the most suitable books to support and challenge their reading. Accelerated Reader tracks what students are reading and Crew Leaders use this to ensure that students develop as readers.

Learning Expeditions

Students will also continue with their expeditions – in Staying Alive, they will begin case study two and consider the importance of staying warm, different energy stores, insulation and how heat energy transfers through conduction, convection and radiation. In Do Your Bit students are beginning to work on their final product and we would encourage you to talk to your children about this. We will have details on the Presentation of Learning very soon.

Next Expedition planning 

During our staff development days we have been working to plan and resource our next learning expedition – Top secret ! (That’s not what it’s called by the way, we’re just not telling anyone what it’s about yet). Students will begin this expedition after our Easter break.

Robotics

Students will be entering their robot for the Robotics competition on Wednesday of this week and will make their own way to the competition. Mr Said has been in touch with parents about arrangements for the day but as a reminder:

 

• 8.30 – 9:15 Teams arrive at NISSAN Sports Complex
• 16:30 – Teams ready for collection

Good luck to our students! They have worked so hard developing our inaugural XP Gateshead entry, including building the robot from scratch, building the practice field and coding and testing the robot in a virtual environment. Also we’d like to give a special appreciation to Dr Steve Bunce who has been working with the students as part of their Common Mission time each week. There will be many experienced teams at the competition so this will be a great learning experience for our students.

Student Assessment Information and reflective narratives

Families have now received their child’s report containing information on attendance, academic progress and HOWLs. You will also have received a second document with your child’s reflective narrative describing their own learning journey and containing comments from their crew leader. Please let your child’s crew leader know in the first instance if you have any questions or wish to follow anything up.

Extended Study and after school clubs

Extended Study and after school clubs will be running as normal this week.

• TUESDAY: Extended Study
• WEDNESDAY: Extended Study
• THURSDAY: Sports / Extended Study / Minecraft

Lateral Flow Testing

Please complete these on Monday evening this week  in readiness for return to school on Tuesday 15th.

COVID infections are still high in the community and rising again. Given our scale, an asymptomatic case in school could cause issues if it were to spread, for example in terms of being able to staff the school. Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing each Sunday and Wednesday evening and make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions.

Now that the government has decided to remove the wearing of face coverings as one of the mitigation measures in schools, we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

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

Safeguarding Review

Thank you to our parents for your fantastic support and overwhelming positive feedback in response to our safeguarding review – some of the comments literally brought tears to our eyes. We also received a very positive report from the Trust team and as ever will be using any feedback we received to do even more to ensure our students are safe and happy at XP Gateshead.

Calendar dates

Our calendar can be found here.

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

 

Best wishes

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to the start of another phenomenal week at XP Gateshead – It’s a busy and exciting week ahead for our students. Please note below the parent voice survey that we are asking all families to complete as part of our safeguarding review.

Expeditions

Students this week will have the opportunity to work with Marek Blonski on Wednesday 9th. Marek is the development Chef for Gateshead Council. This is part of our science expedition – “Staying Alive” which looks at what we need to survive and also asks the question – Is Survival Sufficient ? Marek will be sharing his background in being a Chef and the work he does across Gateshead Council. Part of this expedition is to learn about food poverty and students will put together food boxes with ingredients based on recipes of Jack Monroe – the “Bootstrap cook”. Marek will be sharing with students how to make meals from nutritious and affordable ingredients.

Trust visits – Safeguarding review and Parent Voice Survey

On Wednesday we will be joined by the Trust safeguarding team who will carry out a full safeguarding review. Every school in the Trust has a safeguarding review to ensure we are carrying out our statutory requirements and our students are safe. We look forward to the review and to any feedback we receive.

As part of this review, we are asking for all families to complete a short survey. your feedback is incredibly important to us and helps us to ensure that we continue to run an excellent school for your children.

Please complete this short Google Form and hit submit.

Extended Study and after school clubs

Extended Study and after school clubs will be running as normal this week.

MONDAY: Sports / Extended Study

TUESDAY: Extended Study

WEDNESDAY: Extended Study

THURSDAY: Sports / Extended Study / Minecraft

Lateral Flow Testing

COVID infections are still very high in the community and, given our scale, an asymptomatic case in school could cause issues if it were to spread, for example in terms of being able to staff the school. Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing each Sunday and Wednesday evening and make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions.

Now that the government has decided to remove the wearing of face coverings as one of the mitigation measures in schools, we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

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

Staff Days

Please note that this Friday (11th March) and the following Monday (14th March) are staff days and students will NOT be in school on these days. Staff days are to support staff in receiving statutory training and in preparing and resourcing expeditions throughout the year. Students will return to school after next weekend on Tuesday 15th March

Calendar dates

Our calendar can be found here.

 

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

 

Best wishes

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to the start of another phenomenal week at XP Gateshead – It’s a busy and exciting week ahead for our students.

Staffing Update

Simon Walters, our new member of staff, will be starting on Tuesday and will begin work in classes getting to know students and supporting their learning in the first instance. Simon is based at XP Gateshead and in due course will also be spending some time with colleagues in Doncaster, learning more about his new role as Educational Welfare Coordinator. We can’t wait to begin working with our newest member of our staff crew. 

Expeditions

There are a lot of exciting things happening expedition wise this week. We are hoping to confirm that Marek Blonski, our nutrition expert, will be working with students on Monday afternoon as part of our – Staying Alive expedition. The Durham Light Infantry “museum” will be working with students on Tuesday as part of our “Do your Bit`” expedition and students will be taking part in fieldwork on Friday with our visiting “expert” on commonwealth war graves as part of the same expedition.

Digital Leaders

Congratulations to our Digital leaders who will be travelling to Doncaster on Monday (early start 8am !) to take part in training with students from across the Trust as they prepare for their new role. Mr Said has already sent out details of this trip in a separate post. Students will need a packed lunch.

Trust visits

On Tuesday we will be joined by the Trust “Comms” team who will be curating students’ work, helping us to prepare final products, and putting up new displays of “beautiful” student work around the building. A big thanks to the team in advance for the hard work they will be doing on this – we are excited to see more of our students work on our walls.

Extended Study and after school clubs

Extended Study and after school clubs will be running as normal this week:

MONDAY: Sports / Extended Study

TUESDAY: Extended Study

WEDNESDAY: Extended Study

THURSDAY: Sports / Extended Study / Minecraft

Lateral Flow Testing

Until further notice – Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing each Sunday and Wednesday evening and make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions.

This is especially important now that the government has decided to remove “masks” as one of the mitigation measures in schools although we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

COVID infections are still very high in the community. If you require any extra LFT testing 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  – We are Crew.

Calendar dates

Our calendar can be found here.

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

Best wishes

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome back to the start of a new half term leading us up to the Easter break.

Staffing Update

I am delighted to report that before the half term break we successfully appointed three new members of staff in readiness for next academic year: a SEND coordinator, Maths/STEAM teacher, and a HUMAN teacher. Along with a Science/STEAM teacher we have already appointed, this means we are fully staffed from a teaching point of view for next year. We are looking forward to working with our new colleagues and they will start their staff induction with us in June. 

In addition, Simon Walters, our new Emotional Welfare Officer, will start his new role on March 1st.

In the coming weeks we will begin our recruitment of Learning Coaches for next academic year too.

Extended Study and after school clubs

Extended Study and after school clubs will be running as normal this week.

• MONDAY: Sports / Extended Study
• TUESDAY: Extended Study
• WEDNESDAY: Extended Study
• THURSDAY: Sports / Extended Study / Minecraft

 

Visit to Sikh Temple – Monday 21st February

Students have a fantastic start to our new term with a fieldwork visit to a local Gurdwara in Newcastle. Information on what students need for this visit has already been posted by Ms Tatters in an earlier post. This is part of an expedition entitled – “Do Your Bit” with a focus on the sacrifice made by ALL during the first World War.

Note that this is tomorrow morning, Monday 21st February. Further details have been provided by Ms Tatters,  expedition lead, in an earlier post. Please make sure that you have read this and are aware of arrangements for lunch.

Lateral Flow Testing

Until further notice – Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing your each Sunday and Wednesday evening and that you make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions

This is especially important now that the government has decided to remove “masks” as one of the mitigation measures in schools although we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

COVID infections are still very high in the community. If you require any extra LF testing 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  – We are Crew.

Digital Leaders

Students will find out who has been successful in their application to become a digital leader on Monday. Excitingly, these students will also have an opportunity to visit our Doncaster secondary schools very soon to meet with their peers and learn more about their role.

Calendar dates

Our calendar can be found here.

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

 

Best wishes

 

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

What an incredible two weeks of Students Led Conferences (SLCs) – I think you will agree that students have handled their first SLCs brilliantly and have reflected on their work and progress with integrity. It has also been fantastic to see parents face to face and to finally meet in school! A big thank you to all of our parents for supporting our first SLCs. We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.

This coming week students will begin the first case study in their science expedition, Staying Alive with the guiding question, ‘Is Survival Sufficient?’ They will be studying digestion, nutrition, heat transfer, and separating mixtures amongst other things as we look at the food we need to survive, the importance of staying warm, and the importance of access to clean water. Underpinning our expedition will be a theme of social justice as we work with experts on nutrition and local organisations concerned with food poverty. Our final product will be a food box which will contain all the ingredients needed (plus recipes) to feed a family of four for a week. The recipes will be based on the food books by Jack Munroe who wrote ‘Cooking on a Bootstrap’ and ‘The Tin Can Cook’.

They will also be continuing with their HUMAN expedition, Do Your Bit, learning about the Sikhi faith and the involvement of Indian soldiers in World War I, ready for a fieldwork to a Gurdhwara following the February break – see below.

We will also be interviewing this week for teachers of Humanities and Maths and also for a SENDCo. Successful candidates will join us next year. 

Extended Study and after school clubs

Extended Study and after school clubs will be running as normal this week.

Half Term and early finish Friday

Please be aware that it is half term w/c 14th February and so as normal students will finish at 1.30pm this Friday (11th February) to allow staff to replenish resources and to degunge rooms and teaching spaces ready for after the half term holiday. Students will return to school at the normal time on Monday 21st February. 

Visit to Sikh Temple – Monday 21st February

Note that on the morning of Monday 21st February students will be visiting a Sikh Temple as part of their expedition “Do Your Bit” – further details will be provided in due course by Ms Tatters, the expedition lead. 

Lateral Flow Testing

Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing your each Sunday and Wednesday evening and that you make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions

This is especially important now that the government has decided to remove “masks” as one of the mitigation measures in schools although we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

COVID infections are still very high in the community. If you require any extra LFT testing 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  – We are Crew.

Calendar dates

Our basic calendar can be found here, or the Google Calendar with additional important dates such as SLCs can be found here.

 

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

 

Best wishes

 

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

This week students will continue to take a lead in their first Student Led Conferences (SLCs). One of the very powerful aspects of learning at XP is that students take ownership of their own learning and can articulate how well they are doing in terms of their Academic Progress with reference to pieces of work they are proud of and/or have found challenging as well as their HoWLs (Habits of Work and Learning). Students have been preparing hard for these and we are looking forward to meeting parents (face to face) and listening to students talk about their learning at XPG.

On Tuesday morning students will have the opportunity to work with an historian from a local University as part of their Humans expedition “Do Your Bit”. On Wednesday, Students will also find out what their new science expedition is called along with their new guiding question in our big “reveal”.

This week we will also hold our termly Local Governance Committee meeting which is an opportunity for local Governors to share and discuss the report of their visits which have taken place over the course of the term. We look forward to hearing what they have to say and welcome any feedback we receive.

I am also happy to report that we have appointed an Emotional Welfare Coordinator who will work in the classroom as a Learning Coach and in addition offer us some capacity to our safeguarding team and be available to work with families as need arises. We look forward to welcoming Simon Walters to our crew and he will start in his new role on March 1st.

Student-Led Conferences (continuing this week)

Parents should by now have received an invitation to attend their son/daughter’s SLC and also an email to sign up for a time “slot” via sign up genius. We are planning on holding these in school and face to face and it will be great to finally meet in person. To allow us to do this safely we ask that no more than two members of the same household attend and that parents stick closely to allotted time slots arriving no earlier than 5 m minutes before scheduled times. 

We would also like to remind parents that SLCs are formal events and your child will be following a script they have prepared in advance. Please allow them to speak without interruption and there will be an opportunity for questions at the end. Each SLC will take approximately 25 minutes.

In addition we ask that parents (and anyone else attending an SLC) bring a mask to the SLC and wear throughout the interview if at all possible. We will be in well ventilated rooms and socially distanced however this is an extra measure for everyone’s safety and well being.

Please contact crew leaders in the first instance if you have any problems signing up or any questions.

Lateral Flow Testing

This is especially important now that the government has decided to remove “masks” as one of the mitigation measures in schools although we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

As we are returning to school on Tuesday this week we ask that parents conduct Lateral Flow tests with their children on Monday evening (and then again on Wednesday evening) this week and enter the results in our spreadsheet as normal.

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  – We are Crew.

Extended Study and after school clubs

Due to SLCs taking place there will be no extended study classes or after school clubs this week.

A reminder about PE sessions this week

Class 2 have a change in their timetable this week. For Class 2, PE will be on Wednesday 2nd February. Class 1 will have PE on Tuesday as usual.

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

 

Best wishes

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

We have an exciting week ahead of us as students take part in their first Student Led Conferences (SLCs). One of the very powerful aspects of learning at XP is that students take ownership of their own learning and can articulate how well they are doing in terms of their Academic Progress with reference to pieces of work they are proud of and/or have found challenging as well as their HoWLs (Habits of Work and Learning). Students have been preparing hard for these and we are looking forward to meeting parents (face to face) and listening to students talk about their learning at XPG.

This coming week students will begin their immersion for a brand new science expedition – I wonder if they will be able to guess what it is about and what their new guiding question will be. They will watch a series of videos and read extracts from a book before trying to make links and connections around a common theme.

We will also (pending applications) be interviewing for an Emotional Welfare Coordinator who will work in the classroom as a Learning Coach and in addition offer us some capacity to our safeguarding team and be available to work with families as need arises.

Student-Led Conferences

Parents should by now have received an invitation to attend their son/daughter’s SLC and also an email to sign up for a time “slot” via sign up genius. We are planning on holding these in school and face to face and it will be great to finally meet in person. To allow us to do this safely we ask that no more than two members of the same household attend and that parents stick closely to allotted time slots arriving no earlier than 5 minutes before scheduled times. 

We would also like to remind parents that SLCs are formal events and your child will be following a script they have prepared in advance. Please allow them to speak without interruption and there will be an opportunity for questions at the end. Each SLC will take approximately 25 minutes.

We would also ask that parents (and anyone else attending an SLC) bring a mask to the SLC and wear throughout the interview if at all possible. We will be in well ventilated rooms and socially distanced however this is an extra measure for everyone’s safety and well being. We would also really appreciate it if family members could carry out a lateral flow on the day of attendance at the SLC.

Please contact crew leaders in the first instance if you have any problems signing up or any questions.

Lateral Flow Testing

This is especially important now that the government has decided to remove “masks” as one of the mitigation measures in schools although we are happy for students (and staff) to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. 

Covid infections are still very high in the community and so we would ask that you continue to support us with lateral flow testing each Sunday and Wednesday evening and that you make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions. If you require any extra LFT testing 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  – We are Crew.

Professional Development Days

Parents are reminded that we have Professional Development days for staff this week and next on Friday 28th and Monday 31st January. This is where staff receive ongoing professional development e.g. in pedagogical practises such as close reading techniques or training in mental health awareness in regard to young people. It is also where we have time to plan and resource new and ongoing expeditions and make contact with our “experts” or organise fieldwork. Students will not be in school on these days.

Our basic calendar can be found here, or the Google Calendar with additional important dates such as SLCs can be found here.

Extended Study and after school clubs

Due to SLCs taking place there will be no extended study classes or after school clubs this week or next.

As usual if you have any questions please get in touch with your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

 

Best wishes

 

Mark Lovatt

Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians

It has been another busy week at XP Gateshead and students have now started their HUMAN expedition called ‘Do your bit‘ with the guiding question:

“Why do we need to honour ALL those who sacrificed in WW1?”

Students have also continued to prepare for their SLCs and have been completing their portfolios. In Science we have been studying elements, mixtures and compounds which is important background knowledge for their science expedition which we will be introducing over the next couple of weeks.

This coming week we will host a visit from officers at Gateshead Local Authority who were instrumental in supporting us on opening our new school and we look forward to giving them an Ambassadors tour. We also welcome Neil Butler, Executive Principal of XP Trust, who will be with us on Thursday looking at performance and leadership. In addition, on Friday,  we will  welcome Steve Bunce who is an Apple certified educator to discuss the possibility of putting on an exciting tech/coding workshop with some of our students.

Student-Led Conferences

Parents should by now have received an invitation to attend your son/daughter’s SLC and also an email to sign up for a time “slot” via sign up genius. We are planning on holding these in school and face to face and it will be great to finally meet in person. To allow us to do this safely we ask that no more than two members of the same household attend and that parents stick closely to allotted time slots arriving no earlier than 5 m minutes before scheduled times. Please contact crew leaders in the first instance if you have any problems signing up or any questions.

Lateral Flow Testing

Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing each Sunday and Wednesday evening and that you make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions. If you require any extra LFT testing kits please let us know. This is how we look after each other – We are Crew.

Masks in classrooms

A reminder that students should bring a mask to school with them as an additional part of their daily kit.

As usual if you have any questions please contact your son or daughter’s Crew Leader in the first instance.

 

Mark Lovatt

Principal

XP Gateshead

Dear Parents/Guardians

I would like to start by commenting on how superb our students have been on their return. They have dived straight back into their work and have accepted new and ongoing mitigations such as wearing masks in classrooms, having windows open to improve ventilation, wiping down surfaces and using hand sanitiser without a murmur. They are truly an inspirational group of young people who are determined to do their best to look after each other and their families. 

Student-Led Conferences

It has been a busy first week back and students have been immersing themselves in the start of new expeditions and beginning to prepare for their Student Led Conferences (SLCs) which will take place in the two weeks commencing 24th January.

We will consider over the course of this week whether SLCs will be virtual or face to face however given the current situation with Covid and the transmissibility of this new variant we are currently leaning towards a virtual meeting. Students will be contacting you this week with an invitation to attend your son/daughter’s SLC and crew leaders will then contact you to arrange a suitable time for you to attend.

Lateral Flow Testing

Please continue to support us with lateral flow testing each Sunday and Wednesday evening and that you make sure you enter results into our website on each of these occasions. If you require any extra LFT testing kits please let us know. This is how we look after each other – We are Crew.

New guidance around PCR testing

As per recent Government announcements, we have received confirmation from the Department of Education that should your child test positive for Covid via a Lateral Flow Test, they are no longer required to accompany this with a PCR test. Instead, they will be required to isolate immediately. If they do test positive, they may leave isolation after 7 days if they receive 2 negative Lateral Flow results 24 hours apart on days 6 and 7.

More details can be found here

‘Confirmatory PCR tests following a positive lateral flow device (LFD) test result are to be temporarily suspended from Tuesday 11 January. This will mean that anyone who receives a positive LFD test result will be required to self-isolate immediately and will not be required to take a confirmatory PCR test.

In line with the reduced self-isolation approach announced on 22 December, anyone who tests positive will be able to leave self-isolation 7 days after the date of their initial positive test if they receive 2 negative LFD results, 24 hours apart, on days 6 and 7.‘

Masks in classrooms

As you know, in light of a recent change to guidance issued by the DFE we are asking students to wear masks when they are in the school building and this includes in classrooms. Students should bring a mask to school with them as an additional part of their daily kit.

REMINDER: PE is now on a Tuesday

Please ensure students arrive with their PE kit each Tuesday.

 

As usual if you have any questions please contact your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance.

Mark Lovatt

Principal

XP Gateshead

Dear Parents/Guardians

Happy 2022!

We hope you have had a great Christmas and a safe and restful New Year and we look forward to welcoming students back to the start of a new term at XP Gateshead.

Arrangements for the start of term 

Students should arrive at school on Tuesday 4th January by 8.25am as normal. We would ask that students complete a Lateral Flow Test on Monday evening and enter the result on our spreadsheet as normal. We really appreciate your support with this. It has been one of the things that has helped us to keep our community safe and our school open.

Covid Guidance – Department For Education

In line with DFE guidance we will also be completing additional “in school” testing on Tuesday morning and will inform students of arrangements when they arrive at school.

Masks in classrooms

Further and In light of a recent change to guidance issued by the DFE  we will be asking students to wear masks when they are in the school building and this will include in classrooms. Students should bring a mask to school with them although we do have a supply of spare masks if students require them. 

Ventilation

We will also be keeping classrooms and in door areas suitably ventilated so students should dress appropriately with additional layers of clothing to keep themselves warm.

Kit List

It would also be helpful to us if you would check with your son/daughter that they have everything they need to get back into learning such as pens, pencils, fully charged iPad etc. Please refer to our kit checklist here as a helpful reminder.

PE and after school sports clubs

In light of staffing changes PE will now take place weekly on a Tuesday with our first PE sessions starting on Tuesday 11th January. There will be no PE on our first day back. Additionally there will be no after school sports clubs in our first week back.  The regular academic Extended Study will go ahead as usual after school until 4.30pm this week.

Staffing Changes

As parents will know Mr Dobson has been offered a new job as an outdoor education lead in another school. While we are sad to see him go we understand that this is his passion and we pass on all our good wishes in his new role. This has necessitated some staffing changes. I am delighted to say that I will be taking over as crew leader for Mr Dobson’s crew and I am looking forward to getting to know this group of students and parents even better over the coming months. I hope to continue to be the crew leader for the rest of the academic year at least. Ms Victoria Downes will also join us in the short term to give us some additional capacity in the classroom. Ms Downes is a qualified English teacher who already knows our students well and has been volunteering with us each Thursday morning since we started. Additionally our own Mr Devitt will be leading PE in the school and teaching all of our PE sessions. In due course we will be advertising for a new member of staff who will replace Mr Dobson as a learning coach in the classroom.

New Term – New Expeditions

Obviously the ongoing situation re COVID and the new variant Omicron is of concern and we will be following DFE guidelines and reviewing the situation as we move forward. We will always act in the best interests of our students and will ensure their safety (and that of their families) comes first. Nevertheless a new term means new expeditions and we are looking forward to an exciting term of new learning and challenges for our students. This will involve the unveiling of new expeditions and also the beginning of student portfolios which will be a place to curate the beautiful work students complete.

Student-Led Conferences

SLCs (Student-Led Conferences) replace the conventional parents’ evenings at XP Gateshead. During an SLC, your son or daughter will share their learning with you and their crew leader. You will have an opportunity to look at work from their portfolio and ask questions about their AP grades (Academic Progress) and HoWLs (Habits of Work and Learning).

These SLCs will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 24th January. In around a week’s time you will receive an invite from your son or daughter’s crew leader. Whether these events will be in school or online is currently under review. We will update you as soon as possible about further arrangements for SLCs.

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

We’re all very much looking forward to welcoming our students back into school this week.

 

Mark Lovatt

Principal

XP Gateshead