Dear Families
It has been another busy week at XP Gateshead with some great work from students and staff alike. We have had several visitors in school this week who have all commented on how confident and articulate our students are when talking about their learning, the strength of relationships at XPG which mean our students are safe, are known, feel seen and valued.
Whenever visitors come to XPG, it is our students who give ambassador tours. Like our open evenings, Presentations of Learning, Student led Conferences and Passage presentations it is the voice of our students which is the most important and we continue to use every platform for them to use their voice and be the leaders of their learning. Here is some feedback Brodie and Scarlett in Year 9 received this week from a visitor:
“I am writing to thank you for your time today. I am so grateful to you for explaining the way your school works and the special things about your experience as students there which make it such an excellent place to learn.
I have had the opportunity to visit many, many schools in my time but I have never been as impressed as I was today by the clarity and meaningfulness of what you shared with me. I agree with you that you are receiving a brilliant education which is going to help you to become the people you want to be. I have no doubt that you will put it to good use for the benefit of the wider community.
Thank you again. As I said, I will not forget you; you have made a profound impression on me and you did a fantastic job of representing your school community in a very positive light.”
Summer term expeditions
G31 and G30 students have all had their Summer expeditions and guiding questions revealed and have made a great start to these new expeditions. This term’s expeditions and guiding questions are:
Year 7: How does water shape our world?
Students will investigate how river and coastal processes shape the land and the species that live in these ecosystems. They will also study a range of literature inspired by water including an anthology of poems and Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. They will create art inspired by nature and as a final product will write articles connected to the water quality in our rivers and seas and will do service learning to clean up local wild spaces.
Year 8: Is Migration worth the risk?
Students will look at push and pull factors that lead to migration, and will study some cases where conditions have led people to seek refuge such as war or climate change, as well as economic factors such as rural to urban migration in India. They will work with our partners at the Comfrey project to be able to hear the stories of migrants first-hand and will create artwork inspired by the geometric patterns found in Islamic art and architecture connecting this to data about migration.
Last week’s highlights
Year 7 Class 1 students carried out fieldwork this week to our local nature reserve to investigate the area close to the pond and how the water in this area impacts on biodiversity. Class 2 will carry out the same fieldwork in a few weeks time.
G29 students have continued to impress us with their high quality script writing in readiness for their Public Health Conference which takes place on Friday 9th May at 2pm.
Last week saw the start of our G28 mock exams for year 10 students which will continue over the next two weeks. We are running these exams in the same way that final GCSEs run so that our students get a realistic experience to learn from and build upon. See the recent mock exam information post for parents and students here.
As you know our 3-Dimensional curriculum has a relentless focus on beautiful work, character growth and academic success. We have seen that when children are supported and challenged to go beyond their comfort zones, to produce beautiful work beyond which they thought possible, then in turn they grow and become stronger in character. This sets them on a pathway to achieve well and enjoy academic success.
This week
G32 Transition – Family meetings
Transition has started for our new G32 cohort. We are really looking forward to getting to know our new students and families this week as online family meetings take place for every child with their family. Families will receive invites to these meetings in the coming days.
PE sessions this week
There are some changes to PE sessions again this week due to staff absence. As you know, Mr Devitt is recovering from a broken ankle and we have been working hard to cover sessions with staff who are known to our students. We are grateful to Lauren Cadenas for supporting us further at XPG and allowing us to get another afternoon of sport expertise for students on top of her usual Thursday sessions with Year 9 and Year 10. Please make sure that your child has their full PE kit for sessions.
- G30 students (Y8) have PE on Tuesday this week
- G31 students (Y7) have PE on Wednesday this week
- G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday this week.
- For G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday this week.
Extended Study and Clubs
Extended study and after school clubs will be running Monday to Thursday as usual this week.
If you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance.
Julie Mosley