It was great to kick off our new Y9 expedition during Immersion week with a visit from ‘Happening History.’
Our visitors acted as experts for bringing to life the medical theories that prevailed during Medieval England. Through demonstrations, role play, and interaction with students, the team explored key knowledge surrounding what drove the different beliefs, and how religion, astrology and Greek Philosophy dominated the ‘medieval mind.’
The big reveal for our expedition title and guiding question will take place by the end of the week… stay tuned!
On Monday 15th January 2024, E26 Explorer and E26 Pioneer will be attending fieldwork to Wabtec as part of their current History GCSE unit: ‘History Around Us’ site study of the Doncaster Plant Works (now Wabtec) which is situated in Hexthorpe. Students will be transported to the site via coach.
Pioneer will be visiting the site in the morning and Explorer in the afternoon.
PLEASE NOTE X26 Skipper & X26 Admiral will be attending the same fieldwork on Tuesday 20th February 2024. A further reminder of this date will follow in the coming weeks.
Admiral will be visiting the site in the morning and Skipper in the afternoon.
Timings:
Morning visit: 9:00am – 11:30am
Afternoon visit: 1:00pm – 3:15pm
Students will need the following equipment: pen, pencil and water bottle
If you have any questions about this fieldwork, please contact your child’s crew leader or Mrs Hannam ([email protected])
Learning Labs will begin again after school this week for students in Year 11. We are now switching back to Core Subjects of English, Maths and Science which will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
We appear to have had an issue with our emails system before the Christmas break which means that some families did not receive the email detailing which sessions students should attend, so for this we apologise. These details should arrive to you today. If you do not receive this, please get in touch with Mr Voltaire.
As always, we look forward to seeing Year 11 attend sessions after school and continue to work hard, get smart and be kind in the run up to their final exams.
Lungs of the World: Beautiful Work from Norton Juniors
In Autumn 2023, Year 5 and 6 across the trust embarked on an expedition with the guiding question: Why should we help our planet survive?
As part of the Expedition, students created their own soft toys based on a chosen animal from the Amazon rainforest – learning about why it is endangered and what we can do to protect the species. The students used ‘The Great Kapok Tree’ as a model text. The pupils wrote their own version of the story through rainforest animals’ eyes for younger children in the form of a book and shared them with Year 2 pupils (along with the soft toys) with the purpose of teaching them about deforestation and its impact.
G30’s first POL at St Mary’s Church, Heworth
In the Autumn term of 2023 students at XP Gateshead studied an expedition called ‘From the ground up’ with the guiding question “What do the communities of the North-East of England owe to the miners?”. They presented their learning from this Expedition on Monday at St Mary’s church – sharing their story and performing the songs they have written to tell the stories of the mining community.
These songs will be recorded in New Year and a CD will be produced!
As part of the presentation, students unveiled a board full of their beautiful work – including narrative accounts, diary entries and artwork relating to the Felling Pit disaster.
The chosen venue for the presentation was also historically significant. Not only is St Mary’s the site of a memorial to the disaster and those who lost their lives, but it is also the final resting place of Thomas Hepburn – the famous miner, Trade Union leader and advocate of better working conditions for miners. The building that XP Gateshead is now based in was once named after him.
Sir Tim Brighouse
We were deeply saddened across the XP Trust to hear about the death of Sir Tim Brighouse on 15th December.
Sir Tim was considered to be one of the most important voices and thinkers in education, and a great champion of state schools.
We were very fortunate to be able to welcome him to XP on a couple of occasions and to hear him speak about our school with warmth and encouragement.
He has left a legacy of equity and advocacy for education for all and we are very proud that he is part of our story.
XP Outdoors ended a fantastic term by getting together with s’mores and hot chocolates around the firepit (which provided some much needed warmth on a blustery day!)
We had a few burnt marshmallows, but lots of smiles!
Activities such as this give our Y7’s the opportunity to get to know eachother more outside of the classroom, whilst learning new skills and appreciating the outdoors.
Each group checked out with what had been their favourite activity of the term and, whilst the firepit featured highly, it was closely followed by walks around our lovely local area and litter picking!
Lots more activities planned after the Christmas break as we take learning outside of the (normal) classroom for another term.
Crew Malala in E28 had a great term in Autumn 2023. Here are some of the highlights:
We have been working on our Duke of Edinburgh Voluntary Stewardship by taking our turn to pick up litter around the school site. We have it down to a science, splitting into teams and taking different areas. We can clear the site of litter in around ten minutes!
With 97% attendance, we won the attendance league for Term 1a! We are waiting to see if we can keep the top spot for Term 1b.
At the end of Term 1b, E28 had their termly awards. Crew Malala came out on top with three awards! Fasia won for kindness, Alex for most improved, and Holly won for consistently working hard. Holly was a unanimous decision by all teachers who voted.
Crew Malala are looking forward to what 2024 brings. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Crew Malala. See you in January.
The remarkable dedication and effort demonstrated by all of Year 8 and Year 9 students throughout this term have been truly inspiring.
In our commitment to acknowledging their achievements, we have employed various means such as recognising them through praise points and expressing appreciation in community meetings.
To cap off the term on a high note, we collaborated with leaders, teaching staff, and crew leaders to shine a spotlight on students who have truly exemplified our XP values. This was achieved through an uplifting community meeting where several students were honoured for their outstanding accomplishments and commitment.
We carefully identified and commended students in various categories to celebrate their successes and positive contributions to our school community.
Above and Beyond For students who consistently go above and beyond what is expected of them. Extracurricular activities, volunteer work, or initiatives that benefit the school or community. Consistently Working Hard Students who consistently put in effort and dedication to their academic progress and HoWL’s Most Improved Student For students who have shown remarkable progress and improvement over a period of time. Wonderful Human Being For students who actively show compassion, extend support, and exemplify outstanding human qualities by looking out for their peers and being kind to others.
Each student will also have the opportunity to join a celebration breakfast and festive acivities this week
An email has been sent to all parents/carers of students in Year 8. (Please check spam mail if not received). The Electronic consent link is attached for all parents to access and fill the form online; whether you do not consent or consent, the RDASH team would appreciate a response from each student’s parents/carers (this saves phone calls home asking about consent or not). The HPV vaccine will take place at school on 31 January 2024, so the link will need to be completed two weeks before this date. Thank you for responding to the link.
