Dear Families
Welcome back!
Next week we return to school for our first week back which is fundamental to us as an XP School. We will spend time introducing or reaffirming the importance of Crew which is the foundation of our culture at XPG, and take the time to build and tend to positive relationships in Crew through shared experiences and challenges.
‘If we get Crew right, we get everything right’.
The activities in the first week back are carefully planned and bespoke to each year group.
We will be running a staggered start to school for students on Tuesday to ensure a smooth start back. Our theatre space continues to be out of use whilst ongoing repair work is underway so we are unable to collectively meet more than one year at a time.
- G31 (Year 7) students will start at normal time, 8:25am and can arrive from 8am on Tuesday.
- G30 (Year 8) students will start at 10:45am on Tuesday.
- G29 (Year 9) students will start at 11:15am on Tuesday.
- G28 (Year 10) students will start at 11:45am on Tuesday.
IMPORTANT: Due to the staggered start school lunches for G30/G29/G28 students need to be pre ordered for Tuesday, please complete your choice on the google form here.
First week back guiding questions and fieldwork next week
Each cohort has a different guiding question for the week with purposeful activities which help them to answer this question. As such there is no PE this coming week, but there is physical activity for all year groups as you will see below.
G31 (Year 7) students – Outward Bound Expedition
G31 students head off to Howtown, Ullswater for their Outward Bound Expedition and their guiding question for the week which is:
“What does it mean to be crew?”
Importantly, students will need a packed lunch and a £10 deposit with them when they arrive at school on Tuesday. See the detailed website post which has full information on travel, kit, medical requirements, communication and return time back to school.
G30 (Year 8) students – Fieldwork on Friday 30th August
As part of their first week back in school, Year 8 students will be planning fieldwork in our local area which will involve them retrieving and consolidating their learning from Year 7 expeditions as well as evaluating the effectiveness of new fieldwork activities for supporting the learning of our new cohort. To do this the students will carry out their planned fieldwork on Friday 30th August. Students will be using this fieldwork to answer the question linked to theme of student leadership for the week:
“How can we lead and support the learning of our new friends in G31?”
Students will complete the fieldwork during the school day and will be back in school for around 3.30pm.
Each Crew will put together a ‘Crew picnic’. Your child will be able to give you more details on how they plan to contribute towards this picnic.
G30 students should also be prepared for the weather conditions, so they must have their regular kit and in addition:
- Waterproof jacket
- Appropriate clothing for the weather
- Suitable footwear for a day’s walking in urban area
- Water bottle
- Suncream
- A cap or hat
G29 (Year 9) students – Fieldwork on Thursday 29th August
As part of their first week back in school, Year 9 students will be carrying out a hike in Northumberland around Wylam on Thursday during the school day. As this is a hike, a consent form will go home to students on Tuesday.
Students will be learning how to navigate together as a Crew and will be planning a Crew picnic. This serves as an introduction to the types of challenges that they will face as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award this academic year, and also connects the guiding question for the week which is:
“How do we form great habits to tackle initiatives as a Crew with increasing agency, independence and resilience?”
Each Crew will put together a ‘Crew picnic’. Your child will be able to give you more details on how they plan to contribute towards this picnic.
Students will be travelling by metro and train during the regular school day and will return back to school for around 3:30pm. We will keep you updated on the school website of our expected arrival time.
G29 students will need the following kit for the day. The current forecast is showers and sunny intervals.
- Waterproof jacket
- Appropriate clothing for the weather
- Hiking boots or footwear that is suitable for a rural hike.
- Water bottle
- Suncream
- A cap or hat
G28 (Year 10) students – Fieldwork on Wednesday 28th and Expert sessions on Friday 30th August
Students will be working together in Crews on their guiding question:
‘How can we ensure that our future selves will thank us for the next two years?’
There are two foci for the week. The first of which is focussing on the step up to Key Stage 4 and how they need to adapt their Crew norms to ensure that they are supporting and challenging each other to be successful.
Secondly students will continue their thinking about careers and pathways, beyond Key Stage 4 to Post-16. As part of the week students will travel to Gateshead Careers Centre to hear from experts and employers about what pathways are available to them and what employers and education providers are looking for in candidates.
For the fieldwork on Wednesday we will be travelling to Gateshead Careers Centre by foot and metro, so students will need:
- Their regular school kit including a water bottle and fully charged iPad
- Comfortable walking shoes or trainers
- Clothing that is suitable for the weather – the forecast is currently sunny with showery spells.
During the week, students will also put together a CV based on their ambitions, strengths and skills to date, and on Friday they will have a mock interview with a professional who will give them feedback on how they present themselves, how they articulate their ambitions and reflect on themselves and how they respond to questions. Students should wear more formal dress on Friday for their mock interviews.
Regular Kit and dress code for this week
Students will need their regular kit and be in regular dress code for the start of school this week on Tuesday, just as in any other week. See our website post for a reminder on our dress code expectations.
A reminder that for day to day kit we expect students a school bag with the following:
- A water bottle
- A fully charged iPad
- Headphones – ideally not expensive ones, for example here
- Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
- Notebook
School Lunches
Students can choose to bring in a healthy packed lunch (no confectionery, fizzy or energy drinks) or have a school meal with us. Please note there must be no nut products in snacks or packed lunches – this is especially important as we have students in this cohort who are highly allergic to nut products.
Our school dinners are very popular with our students, thanks to our wonderful kitchen crew. Students make a daily food choice in crew each morning and we have a three week menu. Here’s this year’s menu – we start on week 3 this wek.
If your child receives a free school meal, we will provide lunch. Please contact the school office if you have any questions around school meals.
As mentioned above, please pre-order lunch for Tuesday 27th August here.
Staffing Update and Crew Leaders
Kati Donlan accepted a new job at the start of the school holidays so, due to notice periods, will not return to XPG in the new term. I’m sure that you will join me in thanking Kati for all of her high quality work at XP Gateshead as a Learning Coach and a Crew Leader. She has had a huge impact on staff, students and families with the work she has done supporting young people to access all areas of our curriculum.
We have three new Learning Coaches/Crew Leaders joining our team this term – Nicky Evans, Nelly Mosley, and Charlie Parry. As you know we also have Mohammed Azam and Hannah Simpson joining our teaching team too this year, both of whom have been working with us since June.
A reminder that our Crew Leaders for this academic year are:
G31 (Year 7) – Mr Azam, Mrs Diamond, Miss Jamison, Mr Parry / Mr Said
G30 Crew Earhart: Mrs Evans / Miss Mosley
G30 Crew Kahlo: Ms Macphail
G30 Crew Darling: Mrs Ross
G30 Crew Einstein: Miss Simpson
G29 Crew Attenborough: Miss Blain
G29 Crew Watson: Mrs Horne / Mrs Downes
G29 Crew King: Señorita Quested
G29 Crew Nightingale: Miss Marshall
G28 Crew Parks: Mr Devitt
G28 Crew Frank: Miss Jones
G28 Crew Angelou: Mr Mead
G28 Crew Stanton: Miss Tatters
Regular timetabled sessions
Regular timetabled lessons will start for G28, G29 and G30 in the week commencing Monday 2nd September. As you know, we are reviewing our classes and changes will be made to the makeup of both class 1 and class 2 in both cohorts.
There will be no clubs or extended study for the first two weeks of term.
We are really looking forward to welcoming all of our students back on Tuesday. 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 for your ongoing support and a special thanks to G28, G29 and G30 parents who have been sharing their XPG knowledge and expertise with our new G31 parents. Together we are definitely stronger #WeAreCrew.
Julie Mosley
Principal