Dear Parents, Carers and our amazing children,
As we go into the half term holiday, I want to say how lovely this academic year has been already, with lots of things going on in and out of school.
We started the year with the FOLVS 'Back to School' Discos, which were as always a huge success. I would like to extend my thanks to FOLVS for arranging this for the children and to all the parents and staff that helped, without your help these events would not be able to go ahead.
The response to the Harvest Festival Food Bank Collection has also shown what a caring school community we have at Langford. We have received a lovely thank you card from the staff at the food bank letting us know that we collected 269kg of food, what a fantastic response! I would like to thank you all for your generosity.
Finally, I want to continue to thank all of the staff for their hard work, enthusiasm and the excitement they bring to the learning at Langford, to the families for your ongoing help and support and of course our wonderful children, you are amazing in everything you do and do not forget that!
Have a restful half term holiday and see you all in school on Tuesday 31st October. Please remember that Monday 30th October is an INSET day and school will be closed to pupils.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Sarah Tomlin
Headteacher
Harvest Festival
On Monday 2nd October, we held our annual Harvest Festival assembly in the school hall. It was so nice to have the school in the hall together to share this special time of year.
On Thursday 5th October, Bicester Food Bank then came into school to talk to children in Year 1.
We would like to thank all of the families for your kind donations, which were gratefully received by Bicester Food Bank.
Gardening Club
Gardening club kick started this term with creating our own spring bulb lasagnes. Layers of bulbs in pots, just like making lasagne, the latest-flowering bulbs are planted at the bottom of the pot, with layers of earlier-flowering bulbs above them. The result is a pot crammed with wave after wave of spring flowers, giving colour right through spring. Look out for these pots across school, they are easy to spot as they are topped with some winter bedding plants to look colourful through winter until spring arrives.
We have many other projects ready to go; bird feeders, building an insect hotel, and making lavender bags.
Art Club
In Art club this term, we have been exploring positive and negative art. The positive space is the main object or subject within a composition, while negative space is the area surrounding that object or subject. Using their creative flair, the children have produced positive and negative hand and shape images.
Comic Club
It has been so lovely welcoming new members to comic club. This year, comic club runs for pupils in Years 3 and 4 who have a shared love of either reading comics, drawing cartoon characters, writing their own comics. Many of us have drawn and created our own comics, developing ideas about characters and have made our front covers. We have enjoyed The Beano, Dog Man, Bunny v Monkey and The Phoenix.
Next term, we will be providing story boards for children to develop the plot for their comics, introduce new characters and think about the effects needed. We are fortunate to have a selection of quality comics, however, we are always keen to read and enjoy more, so if you have any that could be donated – we would be most grateful.
Best wishes, Mrs Garraway
Warhammer Club
Wow, this club has gone from strength to strength! Last year, we had 12 budding Warhammer enthusiasts and sadly three of whom left Langford for secondary school. However, this year we have 23 members of Warhammer club – 8 of the original club members and the rest are all new to the club. We have a variety of experience within the club – some with their own armies, others starting out for the first time.
So what is Warhammer?
Warhammer is a tabletop battle game which puts players in command of armies of valiant humans, noble elves, savage orcs or a variety of twisted and monstrous creatures. Players collect forces of miniature plastic models, all with different stats and abilities, and use them to play out clashes on a tabletop battlefield. Unlike a board game, where players’ moves are restricted to defined areas, Warhammer commanders freely manoeuvre their units set distances using rulers and resolve shooting and hand-to-hand combat by rolling dice. The game has always involved a heavy dose of strategy that appeals to adults as well as children. Building an effective army, utilising your force’s strengths and exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses are the keys to victory and the Warhammer hobby extends beyond the game itself. Players spend hours building and painting their miniatures, a process that requires patience, dedication and, sometimes, considerable artistic skill.
Former members in our LVCPS Club and those with experience are happy to continue developing their painting skills and creating their own ‘battles’, others are happy to bring in their own miniatures and build these and for new members we are using the School Pack from the Warhammer Alliance to build our first miniatures from Space Marines to Necrons. The club members are developing a range of skills from communication, painting, resilience and decision making – whilst also having fun and spending time with peers with similar interests.
Major Chess Achievement
Aden K in Year 5 competed at the UKCC Terafinal at Blenheim Palace last weekend in the Under 10 section. Aden is one of only 8 boys nationally in the Under 10 section who were able to reach the grand final so this was a fantastic achievement. He played some excellent chess against very tough competition and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.
Here is some info about the competition as a whole. https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com Typically, around 2,500 children compete from across the UK with U10 being one of the largest sections.
This is the 3rd year Aden has played in this competition, the previous two being as an Under 8. He’s come close before but this is the first time he’s reached the final.
Staff Achievements - Oxford Half Marathon
On Sunday 15th October both Mr North and Miss Green took part in the Oxford Half Marathon. The course began at Broad Street, near Trinity College. Along the way, participants were treated to plenty of Oxford's stunning architecture and live entertainment. Runners breezed past the River Cherwell and Lady Margaret Hall among others, and ended their race on Park Road.
We are really proud of both Mr North and Miss Green for this fantastic effort, with Miss Green also raising £1000 for local charity, Sobell House.
Towards the end of term, we started to explore the changes occurring in the world around us, starting our new topic focus of Autumn. This will continue after the half term holiday, where the children will be developing their observation skills in the natural environment and exploring change.
We have had a fantastic start to the year and are so impressed with how well the children have transitioned and settled into the routines of Year 1.
Our topic in RE this term has focused on harvest where we have learnt about the significance of harvest and exploring how it is celebrated. We welcomed representatives from Bicester Local Food Bank, who spoke about the importance of showing gratitude for our food and how we can extend kindness to those in need.
The children have thoroughly enjoyed our DT project this term, where we have been designing and constructing windmills. Beginning with the imaginative phase of designing our windmills, the children put their creativity to work as they developed their cutting and sticking skills to assemble their designs. They have done a fantastic job, well done Year 1!
In Year 2 this term we have been reading ‘The owl who was afraid of the dark’. In the story, Plop the owl is afraid of the dark and lots of characters show him all of the wonderful things that happen in the dark. One of those is a camp fire! We created a camp fire experience in the classroom where we sang songs, drank hot chocolate and listened to stories. The children then created a bank of words to describe the camp fire that they could use when writing their stories.
This term, year 4 have been studying the Romans in Britain. We have learnt about the countries that the Roman Empire conquered and how they invaded Britain. We have written our diaries as if we are in Roman times and experienced either a Gladiator fighting in the amphitheatre or a banquet in a villa. We carried out research using secondary sources and found out about the weapons and armour that gladiators would have used to fight as well as finding out about what Roman dignitaries ate such as roasted dormice and honey dipped songbirds.
We have created a fact file about Hadrian’s Wall – its measurements, how long it took, why it was built and for which Emperor. We also looked at the forts surrounding the wall as well as Roman villas which were built around England. We used square paper to design our own villas using the information that we found out about them and then used Lego to create our own villas.
In Maths, our focus has been developing our understanding of 4 digit numbers using our existing knowledge of hundreds, tens and ones. We have also been consolidating our understanding of written addition methods and have started using formal written methods for subtracting.
Science this term has focused on the digestive system. We have learnt the names and functions of different parts of the digestive system. We have also learnt about the different types of teeth that are used at the beginning of the digestive process and have started to investigate the effects of different drinks of the enamel of our teeth.
Year 5 have had a great start to the academic year. As well as writing a Non-Chronological Report and a Narrative in our English work, they have also learnt lots about The Ancient Maya in our history project. To support learning about Emperor Penguins, during our Experience Day, we investigated how blubber works to keep animals warm in the Arctic conditions using margarine and ice cold water! We have particularly enjoyed learning Living on a Prayer in Music lessons and have been very impressed by the budding talent and confidence demonstrated by the children. They are even planning some solo and class performances for assemblies! In DT the children have loved analysing and making ‘Doodlers’. It has been fantastic to watch their creativity and problem-solving skills flourish to be able to meet the design criteria. They also enjoyed using the Doodlers to create unique pieces of art. Kestrels have also made a great start with demonstrating and developing their fantastic swimming skills in our weekly lessons and Hawks are looking forward to starting their swimming next term.
Mental Health Day 2023
Tuesday 10th October was Mental Health Day 2023. Hawks class wrote an impressive poem regarding mental health which really impressed Mrs Tomlin, so much so that she awarded the class a Headteacher's Award.
Please see below the poem written by the class, we hope you enjoy it.
We have had a busy but exciting term in Year 6, here are a few of our highlights. In Art and Design, we have created effective photomontages that advertise goods sold in department stores. Working in the style of Chris Plowman, and using his masterpiece Metropolis: Cheese Grater City for our inspiration, we selected appropriate images and experimented with composition to create an interesting layout. We have also used photography to create abstract art in the style of Edward Weston. Using I-Pads, we composed a close-up photograph of a natural form, then using the macro setting, we cropped and edited our images. The final images were presented to the class and we had fun trying to identify the original object.
In Science, we have been learning about Evolution and Inheritance. We have identified characteristics that we’ve inherited from both parents, and now know that some characteristics are not inherited as they are learnt skills. We have also investigated the importance of adaptation and morphed into polar bears for the afternoon. The aim of this investigation was to imitate a polar bear in its natural environment, the Artic. We placed our hands into iced water which was extremely cold; it was not comfortable to keep our bare hands in for long. We then put on a woollen glove to see if that made a difference but the water was absorbed, making our hands feel even more uncomfortable. Finally, we put our hands in a plastic bag that was protected with an outer bag filled with cooking oil (representing the polar bear’s fat layers and fur). This made the freezing water more bearable and gave us the understanding of the importance of why animals adapt to their environments.
We also explored the life of the famous peppered moths and how they have adapted to survive before, during and since the industrial revolution. We have learnt about Darwin’s natural selection and completed our own investigation to replicate the natural selection of the peppered and black (Melanic) moth.
In History, we have been exploring democracy in Great Britain since 1066. We have been learning about King John and his barons, and the importance of the signing of the Magna Carta. We then jumped forward to explore the lives of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and the Civil War. We have learnt about the Cavaliers (Royalists) and the Roundheads (Puritans) and even assembled our own Parliament for a debate, which unfortunately for King Charles I, sent him to a grisly end!
This term, some of Year 6 we lucky enough to have the opportunity to take part in the Bikeability scheme (run by Windrush Bike Project). During the children’s two-day course, they developed their ability and confidence in cycling safely, both on the playground and out on the main roads of Bicester. They learnt how to navigate the road; understand road signals, signage and markings as well as practising how to share the roads with other users. All 38 of the children who took part, worked extremely hard and achieved their Level 2 awards.
Finally, Year 6 went away on their very exciting residential activities week to PGL Liddington in the North Wessex Downs AONB. We went away from the 16th October to the 20th October, for a action packed 5 days and 4 nights away from school and home. We hope that all Year 6 parents have enjoyed the photos and updates that have been provided on the daily blog and that the children are now getting some much needed rest after a very active week.
Pupil Leadership Team
This term has been an exciting time for the Pupil Leadership Team. Our PLT consists of 4 year group representatives. The PLT were elected in January of the last academic year and continue in post until the new year.
The representatives are:
Year 6 - Aiden S, Maiya C, Daniel L & Sahiba B
Year 5 - Isla T, Joseph E, Ajay V & Sophia A
Year 4 - Isla D, Vinnie R, Elsa J & Morgan W
Year 3 - Theo P, Lilly M, Ava G & Jacob W
Year 2 - Luc R. Tabitha C, Georgie S & Freddie R
So far this term, we have been eagerly creating lists of equipment for each year group to enjoy at break times. We would like to thank FOLVS for their donation and are working hard to organise a fundraiser to add to the funds. We will be sending out information on this next term.
We have also cleared and planted the seeds that schools received in commemoration of King Charles III Coronation last year. These are located in the planters on the covered way and new have been placed there.
We have also worked with the school leadership team to choose rewards for the ‘Shooting Stars’ behaviour reward system. Each class can earn 20 shooting stars for following the school’s rules and values and when a class has achieved this, a reward is given to the class. The PLT created a ‘Picker Wheel’ where we chose 6 rewards and these are chosen at random in our STARS assembly on a Friday. These include lunch with Mrs Tomlin or Mr North, extra playtime, movie time.
Eco Council
Last academic year, the Pupil Leadership Team told us that they were really interested in having an Eco-club at Langford as they recognised that doing their best to protect the environment is important. Due to this interest, Langford has now set up an Eco-Council. The Eco-Council, with the help of Mrs Garraway and Mrs Foster will be working towards the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. The award involves a seven stage process throughout the year. The Eco-Council will be meeting up regularly throughout the year to discuss how we can make a positive impact on the environment at our school. They will also be involved in setting up school wide projects. One of the projects that we hope to get off the ground shortly is improving our pond area and forest school facility so that we can support biodiversity at Langford. The other projects will be voted on by our Eco- Council and the whole school will have the opportunity to be involved.
Our first task as an Eco-Council is to carry out an environmental review to see what we do well at Langford and what things we could do to improve our environment. We are looking forward to working with the children to achieve the Green Flag Award.
Each class has a representative on the Eco Council and we are proud and delighted to share that the very first members of LV Eco Councillors are:
Year 1 – Dylan T & Ezra P-D
Year 2 – Summer W & Ella L
Year 3 – Tommy F and Beth N
Year 4 – Theo B & Milan V
Year 5 – Andrew G and Amelie M
Year 6 – Ines W and Jackson B
Well done to the following pupils for finishing in the top 10 this month, within the whole school. You will receive a certificate from Mr North!
All of you guys ROCK! Make sure you continue to use TTRS over the half term break and get better and better with your times tables!
| Name | Pupil | Class | Year Group | Total Points |
| 1st | Theo P | Eagles | Year 6 | 10,460 |
| 2nd | Scarlett B | Barn Owls | Year 4 | 9,954 |
| 3rd | Oakley B | Tawny Owls | Year 4 | 9,896 |
| 4th | Stanley C | Kestrels | Year 5 | 9,067 |
| 4th | Maddie R | Kestrels | Year 5 | 8,535 |
| 6th | Nathaniel R-L | Barn Owls | Year 4 | 7,047 |
| 7th | David C | Red Kites | Year 3 | 5,828 |
| 8th | Zac G | Ospreys | Year 3 | 5,718 |
| 9th | Eva D | Red Kites | Year 3 | 5,692 |
| 10th | Noah R | Kestrels | Year 5 | 5,306 |
Please ensure that your child is accessing Times Table Rockstars at least 2 to 3 times a week. Maths is a big subject, and we appreciate there is more to it than just times tables and there is more to times tables than learning them off by heart. However, a lot of the rich, interesting maths is all about the multiplicative relationships and these are hard to fully grasp without fluent recall of the tables. For that reason, learning the tables is fundamental – they are a key facilitator to the maths that sits on top. We have always believed that. Pupils can play any of the game formats and start earning their coins, which they can then spend on making sure their avatars are rocking!
Thanks for your support,
Mr North (Maths Co-ordinator)
This term's Inventor of the Term was Isaac Newton
Take part in any challenges with your family and friends. Give your answers to your class teachers.
Research these facts to discover if they are True or False..
Last term's riddle answers:
This month's riddles...good luck!
Riddle: What word begins with E and ends with E, but only has one letter?
Riddle: What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
Riddle: What has hands and a face, but can’t hold anything or smile?
