XP Gateshead

Our calendars are published at xptrust.org/calendars

Each term we have two staff days so that our teachers can collaborate across the Trust to create the high quality curriculum that our students study.

As you can see from the calendar below, each set of staff days comes in the middle of each half-term on a Friday and a Monday.

There are two upcoming staff days on Friday 17th and Monday 20th September.

On these days students do not attend school and there is no expectation that they complete work beyond their extended study (homework).

To be ready for the delivery of the iPads you will need to have an Apple ID.

An Apple ID will allow you to sign into the iPad and is your one stop login to apple services. This login will not affect the management system that we have to control what apps are used in school time.

If you do not have an Apple ID, you will need to set one up before the iPads arrive. Children under 13 cannot have an Apple ID so as parents, you will need to set up the Apple ID in your name with your details.

This process is very straightforward. Here is a video showing how to set up an Apple ID:

Please make sure that you have read the instructions around providing medicine here. It is important that we have written consent for administration of any medicines.

 

Our guide to the kit list can be found here. The full kit list is here.

 

Please do not put additional snacks or sweets in your child’s luggage (beyond what they are eating as part of their packed lunch on the first day).

All food from Tuesday afternoon onwards will be provided by the centre and is both nutritious and delicious. If there is additional food in luggage we will keep it safe for students and return it to you on Friday.

 

Please check your arrival time for tomorrow here.

Parents/Carers have prime responsibility for their child’s health and should provide the school with full information about their child’s medical needs. To support the process of administering medicines we ask that parents give full details of the medicine required and a written consent statement for us to administer the medication.

Any medication needed by your child at Ullswater should be handed over to Mrs Mosley, Mr Lovatt or Crew Leader on Tuesday morning. This should be in a clear zip bag or container with your child’s name on the front. All medication must be in date and in the original packing.

Details required:

• Child’s name
• Name of medication
• Storage requirement
• Method of administration
• Dosage
• Time/frequency of administration
• Possible side effects
• Any special instructions, eg taken with food or conditions when it should be administered if it is not a prescription drug.

Please also include a signed statement of consent (hand written is fine):

“I give my consent for a member of XPG staff to administer the enclosed medication. I understand that XPG staff are not qualified practitioners but that they will take care in the administration of the medication and will endeavour to respond appropriately should emergency treatment be required.“

We hope you are all enjoying the last week of your Summer holidays and are looking forward to next week’s Outward Bound trip to Ullswater – we are!

Following government guidance on COVID testing, before we head off to Ullswater we are required to test all of our students. To facilitate this we will need to organise a staggered start to the day with earlier start times for some crews. We will need parental consent to test your son/daughter and will post a parental consent form on our website which you will need to complete this week before 5pm on Thursday 26th August.

 

Arrangements for the morning of Tuesday 31st August are as follows:

We will welcome each crew in to school separately with the following timings:

7:45am   Mr Said / Devitt’s Crew

8:00am   Miss Tatters’ Crew

8:15am   Mr Dobson’s Crew

8:30am   Mrs Mosley’s Crew

 

Please park on Swards Road as space for visitors is limited onsite.

Students will be signed in to school at the front gate with Mr Lovatt and their Crew Leader and will leave their parents at that point. 

We are expecting to leave the site by coach for Ullswater between 10.00am – 10:30am once testing is complete.

We acknowledge that this means that parents will not now be able to wave students away on the coach, however this is beyond our control due to the updated government COVID guidelines. We will be posting videos and photographs online regularly, including our departure from school to keep you updated.

 

Safety measures in school during COVID testing

At XPG safety of our students is our top priority so we ask that students wear masks as they enter school and move around the building on that morning. Students will also be socially distanced until negative tests are confirmed.

If your son or daughter does test positive, then we will contact you and you will need to collect them as soon as possible. If a student does test positive, then unfortunately as a safety measure, they would not be able to attend Outward Bound Ullswater and we will provide work for them for the rest of the week.

Reminders

Please remember to bring:

• £10 refundable deposit

• Packed lunch (for the first day only)
• Personal medication (tablets, inhaler, epipen for example) – we will post further instructions on this, this week.
• XPG Transition pack including the artefact and answer to the guiding question

As well as your kit bag!

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

Have a great final week of your holidays, stay safe and we will see you on Tuesday 31st August.

We will use this post to share photographs and video from Ullswater. You can also follow on Twitter by searching for the hashtag #G28Ullswater .

Good morning, we hope that you and children are enjoying the break. It has been great to continue to receive examples of beautiful work, and so lovely to see families supporting each other on the Facebook group too.

Kit for regular school days

Some parents have asked about kit for regular school days. Our dress-code addresses items of clothing but additional essential kit that students will need day-to-day are:

• A school bag that can hold the following:
  • A water bottle
  • A device appropriate for school work – such as the iPads through the school scheme
    • IMPORTANT: Smartphones are not appropriate for school work. Students can bring phones to school but they must be switched off and out of sight during the school day
  • Headphones – ideally not expensive ones, for example here
  • Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener

 

Kit for Ullswater – reminder

What to bring…

• £10 refundable deposit
• Packed lunch (for the first day only)
• Personal medication (tablets, inhaler, epipen for example)
• XPG Transition pack including the artefact and answer to the guiding question
• A case or bag with the following:
  • 2 x Dry activity kit: T-shirt (football type material is ideal), hoodie or fleece, tracksuit bottoms, leggings or shorts in warmer weather, 1 pair of old trainers for the dry activities
  • 2 x Wet activity kit: T-shirt (football type material is ideal), shorts, a different pair of old trainers for wet activities
  • 6 pairs of socks (3 pairs of thick hiking type socks or football socks)
  • 6 pairs of underwear
  • Tracksuit bottoms, leggings, hoodies, sweat tops or fleece tops are ideal, (try to avoid sending jeans to use during activities)
  • Sun hat or cap and sun cream
  • Pyjamas
  • Toiletries: toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gel and/or shampoo, deodorant

Useful items but not essential…

• Notepad and pen
• Maximum of £5 for the shop, this is optional

More information on Ullswater can be found on our transition website here.

We will post more information in the coming weeks about arrangements for when you arrive at school on the morning of 31st August, including parking etc. As some of you have seen, work is now underway on the building.

We’re so excited to be able to welcome you to our new school very soon!

If you have any questions, please do continue to contact us at [email protected]