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Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Weekly Update for Families @ XP Gateshead
Crew Hamilton: Orienteering Extraordinaires @ Norton Infants
Academic Thursday in Crew White @ XP East
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
We’re looking for a School Caretaker at XP Gateshead:
https://xptrust.org/xp-gateshead-school-caretaker/
It’s a role for someone who takes pride in keeping a school safe, welcoming and running smoothly.
There are more details via the link above – you can apply by sending your application form to [email protected] and please share to help us reach the right person.
This week Crew Hamilton got out and about in the school grounds. We followed arrows on the floor, stoped at crosses and counted our steps to find a range of letters that we needed to unscramble to crack the secret code.
Today, Class 5 built on yesterday’s learning by taking part in purposeful critique. With sketchbooks open and first drafts in front of us, we carefully revisited our work and gave feedback that was kind, helpful and specific. Everyone listened thoughtfully, asked questions and showed real respect for each other’s ideas.
Using this critique, we then began our second drafts. You could see pupils making deliberate changes — adjusting shapes, refining lines and thinking carefully about composition. The improvements were thoughtful and intentional, showing just how powerful feedback can be when it is used well.
We also transferred these critique skills into our writing, as we began our non-chronological reports about Conisbrough Castle. Just like in our artwork, we edited and improved as we went along, rereading our sentences, making changes and strengthening our work in real time. This process required honesty and integrity, and the children supported one another brilliantly, offering feedback with care and respect.
Class 5 continue to show that critique isn’t about pointing out mistakes — it’s about helping each other grow, whether as artists, writers or as a crew.
This week, Class 5 revisited Austin’s Butterfly, focusing on the power of critique and redrafting. We reminded ourselves what makes great critique truly helpful — it should always be kind, specific and supportive, with the clear purpose of helping each other improve.
Before putting pencil to paper, we spent time looking carefully at Conisbrough Castle through an artist’s eye. We asked thoughtful questions together:
What shapes can we see?
What do the lines need to look like?
Would our sketchbooks work better in landscape or portrait?
These discussions helped us slow down, observe more closely and make deliberate choices before we began.
We then got busy on our first drafts. They are strong starts — thoughtful, detailed and full of effort — but we know they aren’t perfect yet. That’s exactly where the learning lives. Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to giving and receiving careful critique, using each other’s feedback to refine our work and create even stronger second drafts.
Class 5 are learning that great art (and great learning) doesn’t happen in one go — it happens through reflection, feedback and the courage to improve.
Today, as part of our Diverse Doncaster: Where do I belong? expedition, we explored another important local landmark- Cusworth Hall. The children researched key facts about the building, recording their learning through a silent conversation. The children then created the first draft drawing of Cusworth Hall, carefully observing its features. We finished the session by watching the inspirational Austin’s butterfly video. This helped us to critique and reflect on our next steps.
This week Nursery children have began exploring their first case study into our new expedition “We are on the move – Would you travel by wheels, wings or other things?” In this case study we are focusing on what vehicles move by wheels, wings and other things? We started with wheeled vehicles with the help of our primary text “Car, Car, Truck, Jeep” by Katrina Charman. We learned the “Car, Car, Truck, Jeep” song which is sang to the tune of one of our familiar Nursery rhymes, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. At the end of the week the children were filmed singing part of the song (which included wheeled vehicles) and this was shared with parents via Class Dojo – check it out!
To activate the children’s learning we shared photos of their own experiences on wheeled vehicles, here are a few.
We also engaged in transport themed yoga where the children used their physical skills to hold poses pretending to be a car, a train and a boat.
We played Vehicle Pass the Parcel, where the children sang as they passed around the bag before taking out a vehicle, attempting to name it and making the sound that it makes. To deepen their understanding of some vehicles the children matched their pass the parcel toy to emergency service vehicles using photo cards.
To consolidate our learning we drew a car, following step by step instructions, using lines both straight and curved and circles. We were very careful in our observations to try and copy our teacher as accurately as we could. Our drawings were amazing!
We were challenged to build vehicles indoors and out using all kinds of construction materials.
Our maths learning focused on parking a number of vehicles in a car park and counting each mobile, to check how many there were in the spaces? We were challenged to think about how many more we could fit in the car park too.
And in our creative moments we collaged a car from our choice of coloured papers and glue, which we will display on a stand to make it look like it’s driving along on its wheels. We also learnt how to finger paint and created vehicles such as a car, a lorry and a train using different parts of our fingers.
To demonstrate all of our new knowledge we finished the week by creating a list of wheeled vehicles. We each took turns to think of and draw a different vehicle and were encouraged to think of and say the initial sound to label the vehicle on our list.
What a fun filled week it has been. We’re excited to explore vehicles that go in the air next.
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
An awesome first week back! @ XP
G32 Expedition Reveal @ XP Gateshead
The Bus was for Us! @ Norton Infants
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
During our first week back Nursery experienced a very exciting hook week to power up our new expedition, We are on the move – Would you travel by Wheels, Wings or Other things?
We had a very exciting Vehicle Showcase on our school grounds to support our hook week text The Bus is For Us by Michael Rosen. In the text the children explored various modes of transport that were available for people to travel by, both real and imaginary. To bring the text to life the Nursery children observed a range of real life vehicles or modes of transport that move around our local community including; a tractor, a camper van, an old american Sheriff car, a fire engine, an old vintage car, roller skates, a scooter and a mobility scooter! The children were so excited to look at the vehicles and sit inside/on some of them. The talked about the appearance and colours of the vehicles and picked out key features, such as wheels, mirrors, lights, fuel cap/bottle and special features such as ladders and raised roofs!
Nursery also went on a short trip to the Junior school to make traffic observations. They were excited to count and see various modes of transport that moved up and down the busy road. We saw a van, a post van, several cars, a bike, someone walking and a dog, birds flying, lorries and two trucks. Finally after a little wait we were even lucky enough to see a Bus!! “The Bus is for us, the Bus is for everyone!”
We then thought carefully about what we had seen and placed lollypop sticks to mark a simple tally, which helped the children to remember the different kinds of vehicles.
Each day we are encouraged to walk to school to stay healthy and help the environment, we complete a Travel Tracker to record this. When we were completing this in hook week, the children were encouraged to consider how they move through their journey to school, is it by wheels or other things?
Finally to race to the finale of our week Nursery were asked to come to school on their bikes or scooters as an alternative to walking or driving. The children were so excited to share their bikes and scooters with us.
What a wonderful hook week and first week back it was to chase the Christmas blues away and accelerate our learning into their latest expedition.
Today in Maths, we continued to practise making different amounts using coins and notes. The children worked together in pairs, exploring different ways to make the same total and explaining their thinking to each other.
There was lots of brilliant teamwork on show, with children showing respect by listening carefully and compassion by supporting their partners when they found something tricky. It was lovely to see everyone encouraging one another and celebrating success together. A great lesson full of collaboration and mathematical thinking!
