Weekly update for parents, carers and families: W/C Monday 17th April 2023

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back! We hope you have enjoyed your Easter break and we are looking forward to welcoming our students back tomorrow for the start of a new term at XP Gateshead.

Our usual reminders for a good start back…

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. 

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

Dress code

As always, we ask students and staff to dress appropriately and modestly. See link here to details on dress code from our website.

This week

New Term – New Expeditions

A new term means new and exciting expeditions for our students. As always, 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.

G29 Fieldwork

As part of their immersion, students in Year 7 will be taking part in an afternoon of fieldwork in our local nature reserve at Windy Nook. Students will eat lunch in school as normal on these days. There are no special requirements for this apart from sensible clothing suitable for the weather. Fieldwork will take place on Wednesday afternoon for Class 1 and Thursday afternoon for Class 2.

PE sessions

There is a slight change to PE this week for Year 7 Class 1. As usual Y8 students will need a PE kit for Tuesday, Y7 Class 2  students will need a PE kit on Wednesday and Y7 Class 1 will need a PE kit on Thursday.

Crew Day – Friday 

On Friday our students will spend the whole day working with their crew and Crew Leader. The focus for these days will be charitable work as well as developing their team work, crew identity and wellbeing. For both Year 7 and Year 8 students will start and finish the school day at the usual time, and are planning Crew picnics. Each student is asked to bring something for the picnic, so your children should be able to inform you of the plan for their Crew and what they have suggested that they bring.

G29 Toilet Twinning – Walk for water

Linked to their work on ‘Staying Alive’ students are carrying out a day of fundraising to twin our toilets. Toilet twinning is a charity that installs toilets, clean water supplies and hygiene kits in areas in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The challenge for our students will take place at Gateshead International Stadium, using the running track. We will transport students to and from the stadium.

As well as raising funds, the challenge is intended to bring home how difficult it is for some children in the world where they do not have access to clean water near to where they live. During their expedition last term students have read about two children whose daily lives were very different simply because of how far they had to go to get water to survive.

Working together in Crews, our students will aim to carry 5 litre bottles of water around as many laps of the 400m track as they can. Students will seek sponsorship based on how far they can carry water collectively as a Crew. Sponsor sheets will be given to students tomorrow. For every £60 raised a toilet or clean water tap can be installed in an area of need, transforming the lives of those in that community. If we can raise £240 as a community, then we can twin our toilets with a whole toilet block!

Extended Study and Clubs

Clubs will all run this week along with extended study sessions every day except Friday. As usual, if a student attends an after school club or extended study session they must attend the full sessions until 4:30pm.

Looking Ahead:

Strike Action

As you may be aware, the NEU teachers union ballotted and agreed two further days of strike action this term on Thursday 27th April and Tuesday 2nd May 2023. As a leadership team, we will do our best to minimise disruption to child’s education and we will update you in due course.

As usual, if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. 

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Julie Mosley

Co-Principal