Dear Families
Happy 2024! We hope you have had a great Christmas and a safe and restful New Year.
We are looking forward to welcoming students back tomorrow to the start of our new term at XP Gateshead.
Here’s some reminders to get a good start to term…
Punctuality
School opens at 8:00am every morning. Students should arrive between 8:00am and 8:25 am and there are spaces available for socialising, reading or completing extended study. Students must be on site for 8.25am for the call to Crew. A calm start to the day is really important for students to settle into learning so we ask that parents support their child with this.
Dress code
Please refer to our website post for full details on our dress code. Can I remind parents of the following expectations around daily dress within school and ask for your full support around this as we move in to a new term
For a normal day within school, we do not think it appropriate that students wear:
- Hats, hoods & coats inside school
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- Revealing clothing, i.e. revealing the midriff, chest or upper thigh
- Noticeable make-up, including false eyelashes
- Valuable, sentimental or impractical accessories / jewellery
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- For example heavy chains, thick sovereign rings, or false nails
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- Impractical footwear:
- For example sliders, flip-flops or high heels.
Daily kit list
As always, students need to bring a school bag with:
- A filled water bottle
- Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
- A fully charged iPad
- Their AR reading book (please remember that as part of our reading strategy, we expect all students to read between 20-30 mins. each day)
- Headphones
- A healthy snack for break (no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks, nut products)
- A notebook
PE sessions this week
Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.
- G30 students (Y7) have PE on Monday this week
- G29 students (Y8) have PE on Wednesday this week.
- For G28 students (Y9)
- G28 Class 1 have PE on Thursday this week
- G28 Class 2 have PE on Friday this week.
Extended Study and Clubs
There will be no extended study or after school clubs running this week. After school sessions will all start again next week.
New Term – New Expeditions
A new term means new and exciting expeditions for our students. Immersion takes place this week and our students will be working hard to find out what their new guiding questions are and the challenges and new learning their expeditions will bring.
Curriculum Updates
There are some curriculum changes which continue to give our students a breadth and depth of experience at key stage 3.
G30 are studying two new expeditions. As part of their studies for their new HUMAN and ARTS expedition, they will also be continuing with drama with a new text and also studying computer science to help them to organise and analyse data from an expert and learn to code.
G30 will also have a new STEAM expedition which will include some food technology and a really great final product that will have an impact on our local community.
G29 are studying one new expedition that combines HUMAN, STEAM and ARTS. This will include some really challenging drama and music, both of which will be instrumental to their final product and presentation of learning.
G28’s new expedition is a combined HUMAN, STEAM and ARTS expedition which will last into the Summer term as a 16-week expedition. This will include a challenging Presentation of Learning in school, and will pull together and build on learning from across Year 7 and 8.
G28 students will also be getting a greater insight into careers and guidance to start considering future decisions. We will also launch our KS4 curriculum offer with year 9 students and their families this term.
Student-Led Conferences G29 and G30
SLCs (Student-Led Conferences) replace the conventional parents’ evenings at XP Gateshead. During an SLC, your son or daughter will share their learning with you and their crew leader. You will have an opportunity to look at work from their portfolio and ask questions about their HoWLs (Habits of Work and Learning) and AP grades (Academic Progress). They will also share their progress around pledges set last term with you during the SLC and you will be able to ask questions around these.
SLCs for G29 and G30 will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 29th January. In the coming weeks you will receive an SLC invite from your son or daughter’s crew leader.
Passage Presentations G28
Our Y9 students will give passage presentations in March. Passage presentations are an opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and their readiness to move on to the next phase of their education. G28 students will provide evidence to an audience of family, Crew Leader and an XPG invited guest to demonstrate that they are ready to start their GCSE journey.
In the coming weeks you will hear more about passage presentations from your son or daughter as they start preparing for this key passage at XPG.
Staff Days
A reminder that we have two staff development days this half term; Friday 19th and Monday 22nd January. As normal, students are not expected to be in school on these days.
As usual if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Julie Mosley
Principal
XP Gateshead