XP Gateshead

Dear Parents/Carers

Students have worked hard this week both in and outside of sessions. It has been great to see so many students attending extended study sessions this week and I look forward to seeing more. Extended study is set in all subjects each week so after school sessions are a great way for students to work in a supportive environment alongside peers to ensure all deadlines are met. It also takes away any arguments at home if work is completed here at the end of the day!

As part of extended study, we expect all of our students to read for 20-30 minutes every day. This week Miss Tatters ‘rebooted’ Accelerated Reader with G28 and G29 after feedback from parents, staff and students. Clear expectations have been shared with students and a termly reading challenge set. 

This week’s Crew and Expedition updates give an insight into how our curriculum at XP Gateshead takes the national standards and develops these into a curriculum with social justice at its heart.

Activism is one of our design principles at XP, and you can see in the work that students are doing that we address important values such as tolerance, respect and democracy and ask our students to produce beautiful work. Through this out students are agents for positively improving themselves, their community and the wider world;

Crew

G29 Crew

Over the last few weeks, Y7 crews have been researching suitable people after whom to name their crews – people who have achieved great things and who display our character traits of courage, integrity, respect, craftsmanship and quality, and above all compassion. This week, students presented their contenders to the rest of their crew and final voting took place. 

In Friday’s community meeting new crew names were announced. 

Our G29 crews are

• Crew Watson (formerly BPO)
• Crew King (LDI)
• Crew Attenborough (SBL)
• Crew Nightingale (KDO)

So Emma Watson, Martin Luther King, Richard Attenborough and Florence Nightingale stand alongside our G28 crew’s namesakes Anne Frank, Rosa Parks,  Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Stanton. 

G28 Crew

Our Y8 crews have been looking at which charity they want to support. Students have been putting together their proposals and pitching to the rest of their crew. There has been some really sensitive discussions with lots of crew support as students have shared their personal stories around choice of charities.

Next week, G28 crews will announce their chosen charities and will start planning future awareness and fundraising events to support their charity.

Expeditions

G29 – Do your bit

This last week students in G29 have been digging deep into some of the language of official communications in Liverpool which dehumanised ethnic minorities around the time of the Race Riots of 1919. This is part of their third Case Study, which looks at the treatment of women and ethnic minorities following their important role in The Great War. Students have also started writing their creative narratives which are written from the perspective of lesser heard voices of the war. This writing will be shared in their PoL on Fri 24th March.

G29 Staying Alive

G289 Students have been looking at energy stores and transfers and are developing their understanding of the concept of energy, useful language when discussing energy and the important principle of the conservation of energy. They will connect this to their wider work in supporting local charities in this expedition by considering the impact of the cost of living crisis and fuel poverty in the UK today.

G28 What is Power?

Students in G28 have been learning about forces, an important building block in being able to explain the scientific meaning of the word power. They have also been starting to learn how to work with wood as a resistant material to build backdrops for the set for their performance of Macbeth.

Students have also been learning about the feudal system, and the power structures within Medieval society, as a precursor to the peasants’ revolt, which speaks to those without power making a stand for their rights as citizens.

This week students in G28 have also been refining designs for their digital stencil graffiti artwork, all of which highlight causes that are important to the students and give voice to those that have less power in society. These designs will be collated in a set of postcards which will be able to be purchased from the school. Students will decide this week where they would like to donate the funds raised. We had a beautiful community meeting on Friday where students discussed the potential options for where our work could make a difference.

This week:

Our usual programme of Extended Study and clubs are running this week.

PE sessions

As usual G28 students (Y8) will need a PE kit for Tuesday, G29 students (Y7) will need a PE kit on Wednesday.

Staff days

A reminder that Friday 10th and Monday 13th March are our staff days this term. Students are not expected in school on these days. See link here for this year’s term dates. 

Looking Ahead:

Staff Development Day – Monday 13th March.

As normal, students are not expected to be in school on this day.

Strike Action

As you may be aware, the NEU teachers union have balloted and agreed further strike action on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th March 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