Wednesday 24th May 2023 - Term 5

Dear parents, carers and our wonderful children,

As we reach the end of another incredibly busy term at Langford, we hope that the photographs below give you just a little taster of what we have been up to in school this term. We have celebrated the King's Coronation in style, taken part in various sporting events and participated in a range of new after school clubs. Children in years 2 & 6 have undertaken their SAT's tests, and all children have worked incredibly hard and proven to us yet again that they are Langford STARS!

As we head into the Summer Term we are preparing to have lots of fun with our Sports Days and Zone Day being key dates in the calendar. We are also looking forward to watching the year 5 & 6 children perform their production, and to celebrating with our year 6 children as they prepare to start their secondary school adventure. It is sure to be another busy term full of experiencing new things and having fun whilst we learn!

Please have a wonderful half term break next week and we look forward to seeing you all in Term 6! 

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Sarah Tomlin

Headteacher

This term at Langford...

King Charles III Coronation Day Celebrations

On Friday 5th May 2023 lots of fun was had as children and staff joined together to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. The children all came to school sporting either their favourite red, white and blue clothing or dressed as King's and Queen's. There was lots of excitement as the children all took part in a Royal Corgi Treasure Hunt around the school grounds.

Children across the school took part in various fun royal themed activities, such as making crowns and Union Jack flags. The day then ended with a celebration assembly where the choir led in the singing of a Coronation song and the children all joined in the National Anthem.

Extra Curricular Activities

This term saw the introduction of an increased range of extra curricular activities for the children. We are pleased to say that there has been a great uptake and many of the clubs are at capacity. It is wonderful that the children have been so enthusiastic about taking up something new, as well as enjoying some favourite activities. 

Year 6 Football Club has now finished for the season, a full write up can be found in the 'Langford School Sports Success' section below. After Half Term Mr North & Mr Holt will be running Cricket Club on a Wednesday after school. If your child would like to take part in this club and has not already signed up, please speak to the school office who can advise on the availability of places. There are also a handful of additional places available in Netball Club if this is something that appeals to your child.

 

Warhammer Club

This term has seen 12 intrepid Key Stage 2 pupils beginning their Warhammer journeys. But what is Warhammer? War Hammer is a table-top wargame created by a business called ‘Games Workshop’ started back in 1983 with Warhammer Fantasy battles. In 1987 it branched off to Warhammer 40,000 or shortened to Warhammer 40k which is a science fiction set in the far future version of the games. There’s a fantasy, there’s a sci-fi and it’s a table-top wargame so, there is a huge table that people play on and they use little miniatures, and then they move them around to battle against each other.

Our adventures have started on this journey which involves building the range of miniatures that are provided, painting them in the colour schemes of their choice and building a mini army to then play against one another. So far, we have built Space Marine Intercessors, Necron Warriors, Storm Eternals Vindicators and Kruleboys Gutrippas. Each week, we build new miniatures and choose the paint schemes. The club will continue in Term 6.

A big well done to these boys for their resilience, creativity and team work: Aaron, Joseph, Brandon, William, Henry, Albie, Julian, Albie, Dylan, Logan, Julio and Noah!

Marvellous Mosaics Club

In marvellous mosaics club this term, we have been having a wonderful time exploring different media to create our masterpieces. We have used collage, creating mosaics based on our interests, and have begun to create summer themed pictures which we will later use watercolours to finish. 

Comic Club

Wow! What a fun term we have had in Comic club. From Dog Man to Bunny v Monkey, Superman to Pokémon and everything in between! The club has embraced a variety of styles and interests – some pupils have enjoyed reading a variety of comics on offer, others have created their own zig-zag comics, some have followed ‘how to draw comic characters’ and others have shared their love of Pokémon in safe space with like-minded pupils.

For those who wish to explore comic writing, please see the link to The Oxford Story Museum where illustrator Neill Cameron runs sessions for children.  https://www.storymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/comic-club-2021

Dynamos Cricket Festival

Kestrels Class had an exciting day at Dynamos cricket on Tuesday 16th May. Everyone entered into the spirit of the game and demonstrated team spirit by encouraging each other to try their best. For some it was their first time in playing cricket! Although we did not win the competition, we won at working as a team!! 

Chance to Shine Cricket Day

On Thursday 18th May, the school was visited by Chance to Shine, which is a national charity that aims to give all children the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket. During the day, a Cricket coaching expert led a whole school assembly in the morning, as well as four taster cricket lessons with different classes. The four sessions were fun, and the children learned about key skills such as bowling, catching, throwing and batting. 
 
 

If your child is interested in playing Cricket outside of school, then head to allstarscricket.co.uk for children who are age 5-8 or dynamoscricket.co.uk for children age 8-11. Thank you.

EYFS

Nursery - Swallows & Sparrows

This term the children have enjoyed learning about the natural world and the changes that occur during Spring. They have particularly enjoyed visiting the pond and forest school area, where they have observed some exciting changes. We collected some pond life, including tadpoles, for the children to observe in the classroom. To support this they have been exploring the life cycle and non-fiction texts. The tadpoles were affectionately looked after and have now been returned to their natural surroundings.

The children have also been growing beans in the classroom this term, and have enjoyed learning the terminology for roots, shoot, leaves and stem. They have also been exploring what the bean needed to grow and how to care for plants. This has inspired the children to recognise plants in their natural environment and has lead to some wonderful conversations.

Swans & Flamingos

This term in Swans & Flamingos we have been on a journey from learning about our local area, making maps, exploring London and then flying over to Japan as well as studying about Japanese artist Shozo Shimamoto.

 

Year 1

On the penultimate week of the term, we finally experienced our Planetarium school visit. The children were immersed into the universe where they became a little dizzy from all the spinning stars. First, we zoomed off from Cape Canaveral into the solar system and docked onto the International Space Station where we explored weightlessness and life on the ISS. Next we travelled to Mars and Saturn, and then landed on the moon where we discovered footprints from the original moon landing. We also learnt how to find The North Star using the Plough (seven stars make this formation). Did you know The North Star is directly above The North Pole? Soon it was time to land and we retuned back to Langford Village School’s playground. WOW, what an adventure!

Year 2

Throughout the term, our wonderful Puffins and Pelicans classes have made fantastic progress and shown dedication across all subjects. 
In literacy, we focused on our letter-writing skills, helping our pupils express themselves better and understand formal writing. In maths, we explored fractions, telling time, and interpreting pictograms, enhancing their problem-solving abilities.

Geography engaged them in discovering our local area, nurturing a sense of connection and understanding about Langford Village. In Art we have been using different strokes when producing artwork, resulting in some amazing finished work! We’ve also been exploring textures and how different materials have very different surfaces.

The Year 2 team are so proud of all of the Year 2’s for showing resilience when completing their booklets this term. They have all tried their hardest, been kind to others all with a smile on their faces. Everyone enjoyed a treat of popcorn and biscuits on Friday afternoon. Thank you FOLVS!

Year 3

This term Year 3 have been busy learning how to write Roman numerals.  We practised this by chalking the numbers outside and using lolly sticks to make number lines.  We have had a busy time learning all about time!  We have been practising our quarter to and quarter past before moving onto 5 minute intervals and digital time. Year 3 loved making and decorating a crown and flag for our coronation celebration.

In DT we have planned, designed and started to make pneumatic toys, we will be making our toys open with a pneumatic system using balloons. We then shared our models with Year 1 and they loved seeing our pneumatic toys move up and down.

Year 4

This term, Year 4 have enjoyed learning about mountains and mountain ranges around the world. We have researched different mountains and created reports on them. We have studied the different animals that live on the mountain and created fact files on Mountain Gorillas, Lynx, Nubian Ibox and the Golden Eagle.

 

We have also found out about the water cycle and created our own water cycles using sandwich bags and have observed the processes of evaporation, condensation and precipitation. We have displayed these in the Year 4 area so that we can observe the changes on warm and colder days. The pupils have also written a non-fiction piece of writing to explain the water cycle.

As part of our home learning, pupils have shared their own facts that they have found out about mountains and Ana-Clara produced an extraordinary mountain cake complete with climbers!

Year 5

Year 5 have had a very busy and fun-filled term! We have been learning about the Tudors, which the children have thoroughly enjoyed! This has included learning about Henry VIII and his 6 wives, Tudor architecture and how crimes were punished (very gruesome!). The children have been busy learning about and designing Tudor houses:

Our Literacy focus has been on The Highway Man poem. The children have then used this, alongside the much loved Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson, to write their own narrative poems. We have loved reading the children’s work, which has included some Highway Hogs and Highway Sheep! We have even made wanted posters to showcase their animal thief!

The children have enjoyed learning how to use protractors in Maths, finding missing angles and drawing some of their own.

Year 6

Term 5 for Year 6 has been a busy one, with the much anticipated SATS in the middle of it. We worked hard at completing our tests during the week but had lots of fun as well. Every morning, we arrived early to enjoy a delicious breakfast of toast, cereals, tea and juice then on Friday we were treated to a pizza lunch from Dominoes. We’d like to say a big thank you to FOLVS who very kindly paid for both our breakfast and pizzas – THANK YOU!

 

As part of our topic ‘Blood Heart’ we are reading Pig Heart Boy which is all about a teenager undergoing the world’s first animal heart transplantation. To help us understand the function of the heart, we spent an afternoon examining and dissecting a pig’s heart. We were able to see how the blood would flow through the four chambers with the help of the valves and heart strings.

Times Table Rockstars - Top of the Rocks

Well done to the following pupils for finishing in the top 10 this month, within the whole school.  WOW! You will receive a certificate from Mr North!

All of you guys ROCK! Make sure you continue to use TTRS over the Holidays and get better and better with your times tables!

Pupil Class Year Group Total Points
1st Stanley C Tawny Owls Year 4 23,105
2nd Theo P Kestrels Year 5 15,984
3rd Milan V Ospreys Year 3 9, 633
4th Ralfs S Hawks Year 5 9,146
4th Hanna K Tawny Owls Year 4 8,166
6th Jade M Tawny Owls Year 4 7,570
7th Ajay V Barn Owls Year 4 7,160
8th Heidi H Eagles Year 6 6,503
9th Maddie R Barn Owls Year 4 5,860
10th Olivia Hm Ospreys Year 3 5,404

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)

STEM - Inventors & Makers

Design and Technology - this term's inventors are...brilliant busy bees! These creatures are amazing and have so many skills from architects to food providers, dancers to security guards. Have a look at these wonderful facts. 

Langford School Sports Success

Langford Football Teams

As our season draws to an end at Langford, we can look back on an amazing year where our Year 6 footballers have grown in many different ways – both their footballing skills as well as confidence. We have seen children develop their leadership skills and being a good team mate, as well as showing a good sporting attitude and fairness towards their opponents. Regardless of any actual results, all the players this year are WINNERS without any doubt.

This term all 3 teams were in action to conclude their final games.

The Langford girls travelled away for their final fixture against Fritwell girls. The game was a brilliant showcase for how far these footballers have progressed. For some, this was their first year of playing competitive football. A complete performance was put together by the 8 lionesses, with a final result being a 6-2 victory (capped off with 5 goals scored by Courtney). As always, the girls played amazingly, both offensively and defensively. All the girls can look back at their games and feel proud of how they represented the school.

For our Mixed A team, they had one remaining fixture. On Wednesday 19th April, they hosted the Longfields A team. The game was end to end and showed the real high quality that we have within our A team. The final result was a 5-1 victory where Langford dominated possession and chances from the first minute until the last. For the A team, it may be a considered a season of ‘what ifs’ and near misses. Given a second chance against Eynsham, St Edburg’s A, Brookside and Kings Meadow, our A team could very easily walk away with 4 more victories instead of narrow defeats and frustrating draws. But these results should not overlook the brilliant football they have played this year, scoring some some outstanding goals and making breath-taking last ditch tackles. Well done A team, you should be proud.

Finally, we turn to our Mixed B team. They had one final away fixture to play against a high-flying Fritwell (who required a good result to qualify for the semi-finals). In front of a big crowd of Fritwell supporters, our boys took an early lead. The game ebbed and flowed and goals were scored by both sides. The game did end in a frustrating 4-5 loss, but our B team can be proud of their determination, resilience and effort going toe-to-toe with a very strong Fritwell side. Each game this season these boys have turned up and put on brilliant performances that, like the A team, could have gone a different way on another day - but it just was not meant to be. The boys may feel disappointed but this should not be the case. To quote the famous NBA Basketball player, Giannis Antetokounmpo “Losing is not a failure, it is steps to success.” The B team should feel proud of their performances, as everyone in school is proud of how they represented us.

Images below (from left to right): Langford A Mixed Team, Langford B Mixed Team, Langford Girls Team

The final tables are below:

Take part in any challenges with your family and friends. Give your answers to your class teachers.

True or False?

  1. Do camels have three sets of eyelids?
  2. It is possible to sneeze while sleeping?
  3. If you stretch your arms out wide, will the length of your arms be equal to your height?

Research these questions and have fun and discovering the answers.

Riddles

Last month's riddle answers:

  1. Riddle: I grow down as I grow up. What am I? A Goose
  2. Riddle: What has a thousand needles but cannot sew? Porcupine
  3. Riddle: I jump when I walk and sit when I stand. What am I? Kangaroo

Riddle: I am easy to lift, but hard to throw. What am I? 

Riddle: What can fly but no wings?

Riddle: What has 5 fingers but is not alive?

 

Spot the difference

How many can you spot?

Word Search

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