Dear Families
We have continued to be impressed with our students this week and the HOWLs (habits of work and learning) they are exhibiting in sessions. It has been great to see the fantastic start G31 have made and hear the praise from the team who work with our new cohort.
On Friday it was wonderful to hear students’ appreciations, apologies and stands during our online Key Stage 3 (G31, G30, G29) Community Meeting at the end of the day. The language our students use around our character values and HOWLs shows a real depth of understanding and commitment to character development. These are not just words on a wall at XPG.
Great North Run Junior
Congratulations to all of our students that ran, or supported the Great North Run last week. A big well done to Mrs Diamond, Señorita Quested and Miss Tatters for completing the big run on Sunday last week too.
Guiding Questions
At the start of this last week immersion came to the end for all year groups. After lots of wondering and suggestions, students in G31 enjoyed the big reveal to find out their expedition guiding questions.
GQs (guiding questions) are a crucial part of the anatomy of an expedition.
GQs influence, shape and act as a reference point for student learning. GQs provoke thinking and deepen learning throughout the 12 week expedition and allow students to be engaged in authentic and purposeful work which makes connections between different subject areas and disciplines. During the course of a learning expedition, our children experience a range of case studies, with challenging texts which deepen their understanding and help them to develop an answer to the rich GQ for the expedition.
Presentations of Learning
At XP we make our work public. One of the most important ways we do this is through Presentations of Learning (PoLs). PoLs usually take place towards the end of expeditions and they are used as an opportunity for students to showcase their learning from their most current learning expedition. PoLs enable students to grow their character and further embed their learning through presenting their work in front of a range of authentic audiences and in a variety of contexts. In addition, students develop oracy skills by presenting to different audiences and in different contexts which builds confidence and further allows students to grow their character whilst developing key skills.
This terms’ Guiding Questions and Presentation of Learning dates are:
G31 – “How can stories influence and shape communities?” The presentation of learning for this event will be held on the evening of Monday 16th December at St Mary’s Church in Heworth. Please keep this evening free in your diaries. We will confirm a start time as soon as we can, but typically Presentations of Learning begin around 4.30pm to 5.00pm and last for around 60-90 minutes.
G30 – “What does it mean to be Human?” G30’s presentation of learning will be held on Wednesday 18th December in school.
G29 – “How are structures important in helping us to explain our world?” G29 have an exciting presentation of learning on the Newcastle University campus at the Farrell Centre on Thursday 12th December.
G28 – Study two expeditions this term with GQ’s “How did bonding help the Vikings forge a strong legacy?” and “Why could ‘A Christmas Carol’ be thought of as the ultimate Christmas story?” The combined presentation of learning for these expeditions will be held in school on Thursday 19th December in school.
Our week ahead
PE sessions this week
Please can parents make sure that their child has a PE kit for PE sessions. We expect students to change into their appropriate PE kit, and not wear the same clothes they wear in school. Similarly, students must change out of PE kit afterwards, into their normal school clothes. For safety, jewellery must be removed and hair must be tied back.
- G31 students (Year 7) – Class 1 PE sessions take place on Tuesday, Class 2 PE sessions take place on Wednesday.
- G30 students (Year 8) have PE on Monday.
- G29 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
- G28 students (Year 10) have PE on Thursday.
Extended Study
Teachers have started to set extended study and students have begun to build their extended study timetable. In a typical week, for Years 7-9 there is around 45-60 mins set per night. Each subject area sets the extended study and it is due on the same day each week, so that students can organise their time and get into good habits around additional study outside of sessions.
There is a step up in expectations at GCSE in Year 10 and beyond. All GCSE-level courses now have examinations as their main form of assessment. There is a lot of content that students need to internalise and it is just not possible for students to do this in Year 11 in the run up to their examinations. As such, students are expected to spend more time on their extended study in comparison to Years 7-9. This means that there should be no need to rely on cramming in Year 11 and students should be in good habits around working outside of sessions in readiness for the revision needed to be successful.. We will publish the regular schedule for the setting of and the deadlines for extended study for Year 10 later this week.
After school extended study sessions will start this week.
We offer extended study sessions from 3:15pm – 4:30pm Monday – Thursday. Students attending these sessions must stay for the full session until the end at 4.30pm. These sessions allow students to work with their peers and staff on extended study tasks in school where support is on hand. Extended study is optional for most students but for some who struggle to complete and miss deadlines, extended study may be directed.
We will be launching our new lunchtime and after school clubs programme by the end of September.
Staff Development Days
We have staff days each term at XP so that our teachers can collaborate across the Trust to create and deliver the high quality curriculum that our students study. These are shown in blue on our calendar.
This week and next sees the first of our staff days where students are not expected to be in school.
- Friday 20th September – Staff Development Day
- Monday 23rd September – Staff Development Day
On staff days our students do not attend school and there is no expectation that they complete work beyond their regularly set extended study (homework). Students will find this work on Google classroom.
Students are expected back to school on Tuesday 24th September by 8:25am at the latest.
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 as always for your ongoing support. Together we are stronger #WeAreCrew.
Julie Mosley
Principal