G29 (New Year 7) Parents – Our iPad scheme is now live and working!

By Martin Said14th June 2022

Our iPad for Learning Scheme portal is now open until 10pm on Thursday 28th July.

Click here to access the scheme

As we have discussed in our transition family meetings, students are expected to bring a device with them to school every day.

We strongly recommend that parents purchase the latest iPads, which gives them access to Google Docs and many creative apps such as iMovie, GarageBand and art apps. We believe that iPads are now the best pound-for-pound device for learning.

Working with our current Year 7s, the latest iPads have been transformational in the way that we have been able to approach learning in the classroom with every student on the same device.

 

We have created a great value parental contribution scheme which offers all our parents affordable access to the latest iPad with comprehensive insurance. This cost to parents is significantly cheaper than if you were to buy them from a shop (roughly 20% cheaper), and you get to spread the cost over the payment plan. After the final payment, the iPad is yours to do with as you wish. You can also purchase the iPads in one-off payment.

The other advantage of our scheme is that the iPads are managed by school and we can add apps to the devices that are needed for your child’s learning. During school time, only apps needed for school will be available. This helps us keep our students safe and distraction free whilst using devices. Out of school, any other apps can be installed by students.

 

In our scheme, you are able to buy an iPad with a keyboard case and trackpad, with the option to purchase an Apple Pencil which is incredibly useful for art apps and digital creation.

 

Option 1: iPad, comprehensive insurance, keyboard case, school apps and security. £15.50 per month

Option 2: iPad, Apple Pencil comprehensive insurance, keyboard case, school apps and security. £18 per month

 

Delivery will be made directly to XP Gateshead in time for the new school year and you will be contacted when your iPad is ready for collection.

G28 FROM THE GROUND UP BOOK LAUNCH: 30th June

By Martin Said14th June 2022

We are delighted to be able to confirm that Year 7 will launch their published book “From the Ground Up” at Seven Stories – the National Centre For Children’s Books!

Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children's Books — Get North!

This is such a fantastic opportunity for our students and takes us right back to where the planning for our school with our first team of staff began last year.

The book launch will take place after school on Thursday 30th June.

We will transport students from school to Seven Stories. Students will then be presenting their book to experts and members of the community in the loft room at Seven Stories after school. As this is a formal event we will ask students to dress smartly for the occasion as they would for a presentation of learning.

Following this there will be an informal celebration on the ground floor (level 3) where parents and families will be welcome.

Families should arrive from 5.00pm. The cafes will be open on levels 2 and 3, as well as copies of the book available to purchase for £9.95. All proceeds raised from book sales will go back into the education of your children.

Students will make their way downstairs from their presentation to join our families at around 5.30 pm, and the event will close at around 6.00pm.

Please complete this Google Form to confirm your attendance at the informal celebration and to confirm that you will be able to take your child home from Seven Stories at around 6.00pm.

There is limited parking available in the area, or alternatively Seven Stories is around a 20 minute walk from either Manors or Byker Metro stations. More information on getting to `Seven Stories can be found here.

G28 Weekly update for parents – W/C Monday 13th June 2022

By Mark Lovatt12th June 2022

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

Branded Clothing Shop – UPDATE

By Martin Said8th June 2022

We have had an update from our clothing supplier FBT Europe.

They expect their stock of XP Gateshead clothing to be replenished in mid-August. This has been delayed due to changes in customs arrangements for FBT’s suppliers.

We will update you via our website when the items are back in stock.

A reminder that our dress code can be found here. The branded clothing from the FBT shop is not mandatory, but we do recommend the black polo shirts for day to day wear, and these are also suitable for formal occasions such as Presentations of Learning.

G28 Weekly update for parents – W/C Monday 6th June 2022

By Mark Lovatt5th June 2022

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

G28 PARENTS – SLC Invites and Google Form

By Martin Said24th May 2022

Good evening

You should now have received invites asking you to book a slot for your child’s next SLC (Student-Led Conference).

These will take place in the two weeks commencing 13th June and 29th June.

A reminder that students are working on pledges associated with their recent assessment information snapshot. We will share these pledges with you soon. Students will present their progress in these pledges as part of the SLC. More details of that process were shared in this post.

IMPORTANT – Google Form

In addition to presenting evidence of working on their pledges, we asked you to complete a Google Form to ask your child questions that you would like them to answer as part of their SLC, or for more information that you would like to see as part of their SLC.

It is really important that you complete this Google Form. This will help your child to plan what they would like to show you in their 25-minute conference.

The link to complete the Google Form is here.

We would be most grateful if the Google Form could be completed by the end of this week – Friday 27th May so that your child can get to work on including your requests in their SLC.