Autumn Term Newsletter 2019/2020
13th December 2019
Dear Parents
It's difficult to believe that we are nearly at the end of the Autumn Term at Landmark and of 2019! It has been an exciting and eventful term filled with trips, competitions, challenges and successes. A real learning journey.
When we returned to school in September the students and staff were delighted to see the work that had been done to improve the school facility during the summer break: the new hall floor had been laid and the hall and classrooms had been freshly painted. Later in the month we held a reception for parents at which our fantastic new science laboratory and art room were officially opened by Niels Holch-Povlsen, our patron and owner of the school building.
In September a group of Landmark parents and their families took took part in a sponsored walk to raise money for Centre 33 and the Paediatric Cardiology Unit at Addenbrookes Hospital. The families joined together for a delicious lunch at the White Hart at Fulbourn after the walk. The walk raised over £1,000 for the charity.
The 100 Samsung tablets donated to Landmark have been a very positive addition to our IT resource this term; each student in year 6 to 11 has been set up with an individual school email account and the tablets have been used across the primary and secondary department, with teachers using google suite resources to support learning in the classroom.
As part of their topic on the rain forest, Kingfisher Class enjoyed a trip to Shepreth Wildlife Park. The students wrote some wonderful accounts of their discoveries about endangered species and the range of products that use materials sourced from the rainforest.
The whole school celebrated National Poetry Day in October. Poems were enjoyed by students across the school and some original compositions were shared. It was lovely to see the senior students helping the younger ones to understand and interpret the poetry.
As part of their project on Frozen Kingdoms, Eagle class visited the Scott Polar Institute. They enjoyed researching and dressing up as Polar explorers.
There have been a number of exciting initiatives in the science department. The Crest Discovery Award has been added to the key stage three curriculum, so students in years 7 to 9 have been able to take part in developing and creating innovative projects - such as water collecting receptacles for use for hand washing in parts of Africa, a communal bird feeder and a classroom of the future. In October the senior students visited New Scientist Live in London and enjoyed an amazing range of experiences - including listening to Tim Peake talk about the next mission to the Moon!
Landmark achieved another set of impressive results in the Vocab Express Competition this year. Overall the school finished second in the whole competition, which has schools from across the world competing. Our students were awarded First in Spanish, Second in German, Third in French, Third in Latin, First in Polish, First in Russian, First in Mandarin and First in Italian. These scores reflect the wonderful mix of nationalities and the talent of our students.
Halloween was celebrated with enthusiasm in the primary department - the pumpkin carving was impressive - and the pumpkin soup they made was delicious!
The school looked great for our Open Morning on the 9th November and a good number of families visited the school and enjoyed tours provided by our students. They enjoyed some delicious homemade biscuits, particularly those in the shape of our Landmark logo and the Spanish and French snacks in the Languages Department.
In November some of our Year 9 students took part in the Cambridge Classical Reading Competition. We were awarded first and second place - Gold and Silver. Quite an achievement!
The parents and children donated a wonderful array of cakes in aid of Children in Need; we are continually delighted by the generosity and supportiveness of our community.
Robin and Toucan classes visited The Sea Life Aquarium in London. This was to support their topic on Ocean Life. They had a wonderful time - so much so that several parents have been asked to take their children again in the holidays!
After being selected to compete in the National Finals of the WWF Wild Wisdom Quiz, two of our Year 8 girls spent the day at the Living Planet Centre, WWF’s UK headquarters in Woking, last month. Against seven other teams from around the country, the girls stormed through round one and came out clear winners of their heat. In the UK finals our girls won with a sizeable majority! They then came 2nd to Columbia in the Worldwide Finals. They received a commendation from the Head of WWF UK and an array of prizes.
Our library has undergone a complete transformation during the Autumn Term! We have new bookcases, a wonderful new assortment of books and a comprehensive indexing system. The library is now a wonderful resource for all our students and we are looking forward to observing them enjoying accessing all the new books in the New Year. We would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Connie, Liz and Danett for lending their time and expertise to this project.
At the end of November the Year 9 group travelled to London to watch a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III at the Globe Theatre in London. This memorable and eventful day began with a trip to the Tate Modern. The students and staff then moved on to the Globe and had a fascinating question and answer session with John Lightbody, a member of the cast of Richard III. Following a tour of the Globe the students took part in a workshop, which helped them to deepen their understanding of the language and plot before watching the play. The performance was outstanding and the staff of the Globe commented on the excellent behaviour and manners exhibited by our Landmark students.
In December the Primary Department organised and performed the first Landmark pantomime, Aladdin Trouble. Despite poor Wishy Washy becoming ill on the morning of the pantomime, and the Genie and Aladdin struggling with nasty viruses, the production was a triumph! Well done to our stand in Wishy Washy for being such an excellent substitute and to all the students for the memorable performance. It was a delight to see our whole community come together at such a great event.
We would like to thank you all for the wonderful support you give to the Landmark community. The school is a vibrant, thriving community and your children are a credit to you. At the end of the first term it is really evident that Landmark is a community where we care for one another, creativity is given the space to thrive and our international nature is celebrated.
We wish you all a fantastic break. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year, ready for a new term and to take the next steps on our learning journey.
With best wishes
Gareth Turnbull-Jones and the Landmark Team
