XP Gateshead

On Tuesday of this week, our Year 8 rock band students will travel to Blank Studios in Newcastle to make a professional recording of Patti Smith’s ‘People have the power’ as part of their learning expedition with the guiding question “What is Power?”

This fieldwork will take place entirely within the school day. If there are any delays to the return to school via Metro, we will update the school website.

Drummers and guitarists will work in the the studio in the morning and then vocalists and keyboard players will add their parts in the afternoon.

Students should come to school with their regular kit.

The should also have:

• Comfortable walking shoes or trainers (not crocks) as they will be travelling on foot and by Metro.
• A packed lunch. Both groups of students will have lunch whilst out on fieldwork.
• The forecast is dry and cool, so students will still need a jacket for travel.

Morning Session – travelling out by foot/Metro and returning by minibus:

Donell E, Olivia W, Leila W, Pearl P, Lucy Mc, Maisy S, Chloe I, Summer B

Afternoon Session – travelling out by minibus and returning by foot/Metro:

Summer I, Alex E, Sylvia R, Emily H, Paige E, Abbie L, Channel C, Amelia Y, Gracie M

Once again, I’m donning my running shoes, together with my brother Michael, and attempting the challenging Sheffield Half Marathon on Sunday the 29 March to raise funds for our upcoming Music and Arts Festival in the summer term.

This year will be the third time we have brought together students from across the Trust to showcase their artistic and musical skills alongside community partners and professional artists. Take a look at the highlights from last year.

To make this happen again we need your support! If you could make a donation, however big or small, we can place music and the arts right at the heart of our mission to make ourselves, our community and our world a better place!  And make the third Community Arts and Music Festival the best yet.

Just click the link here to make a donation. 

Thank you for your continuing support. 

Andy Sprakes

Co-founder and Chief Academic Officer, XP Trust

On Thursday 12th March, students will be conducting fieldwork to explore the question:
Why are there variations in life expectancy in Gateshead?

To prepare for this investigation, students will analyse secondary data from the national census in school and now they need to enhance their understanding by gathering primary data through firsthand observations.

Fieldwork

Students will spend the full day on foot, walking between XPGateshead, Felling Square, and Durham Road (Low Fell High Street) to examine inequalities in the local area. The data they collect will contribute directly to their Presentation of Learning.

This fieldwork will also be a physical challenge, covering approximately 10km. If your child is usually transported in a car to the metro on fieldwork they will be in our school mini bus so will not be walking on the day.

The weather forecast is currently showing fine weather for the day but we know that our weather is very changeable so please ensure your child does bring a rain jacket on the day.

What Students Need to Bring:

 Full School kit
 Comfortable trainers or walking shoes. No Crocs.
 At least one full water bottle (no refill points available during the day)
 A rain jacket (weather conditions may change)
 Packed lunch (provided for students on Free School Meals)

Important Notes:

This is an essential part of the students’ studies. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact your child’s Crew Leader or Miss Jones as soon as possible.

Beautiful work this week

Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!

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

Top of the Blogs

Year 5 Dodgeball @ Green Top

World Book Day in 5L @ Plover

World Book Day Crew Frost @ Carcroft School

Crew Peake – stewards of our community @ XP

Weekly update @ XP Gateshead

Crew, Collaboration, Critique and Teamwork Tigers! @ Norton Infants

Multiplying our Maths Skills @ Norton Juniors

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

We are delighted to invite our school community to a special Family Iftar Dinner in celebration of Ramadan.

This event is a opportunity for families, staff and friends of the school to come together, share a complementary meal and learn more about the spirit of Ramadan — a month centred on reflection, gratitude, charity and community.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 11th March
Time: 5:00pm – 6:45pm
Location: XP Gateshead

What to Expect

Guests can look forward to a shared Iftar meal at sunset, a live music performance, raffles and keynote speeches from members of our community.

About Ramadan

Ramadan is a holy month in Islam observed by Muslims around the world. During this time, Muslims fast each day from dawn until sunset, refraining from food and drink as an act of worship and self-discipline. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is intended to encourage spiritual reflection, empathy for those in need and a renewed focus on kindness, generosity and community. The fast is broken each evening with a meal known as iftar, often shared with family, friends and the wider community.

Attendance and RSVP

We warmly welcome families of all faiths and backgrounds to attend from across our school community. We would like to particularly encourage families of G31 students (year 8) to attend, as celebrating diversity, building compassion and learning more about Islam links directly to the expedition they will embark on in term 3. 

If you would like to attend, please complete the google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZed8IhzezAJaviIvU_nzO7jGVFW2UyeTMkxj-ahsNeV4qYA/viewform?usp=publish-editor 

We look forward to celebrating together.

We are currently waiting for our bagel delivery, so bagels will not be available at breakfast this week. Cereal will still be available as usual.

On Monday 16th March we have a staff day. Students will be able to come into school to prepare for their passage presentations, however we will not be providing lunch on that day.

Tuesday 17th March is not a staff day. Year 9 teachers will be involved in passage presentations throughout the day so we will not be running a regular timetable for this day for Year 9 students. Students that come into school will be supervised and will work on extended study.

There are three options for Year 9 students on this day:

• Come into school for the full school day (including staying in school after a Passage Presentation).
• Come into school for a Passage Presentation and then leave with their family.
• Work on extended study from home.

Please can all G30 families use this Google Form to let us know what your child will be doing, and whether they will need a school lunch.

Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th March are regular school days. Students with passage presentations on these days will be given time to prepare.