Firstly, an update on sporting activities and competitions that have taken place over the last week or so. A massive 'WELL DONE' to all of the Millfields runners who took part in the Hackney Schools Run last weekend. It was a great turn-out as usual from Millfields. The children were brilliant as always -biggest school group, and the overall winner again, and second spot as well as first girl home! Well done Rohan, Sam and Marley! THANK YOU to Crystal, Ashraf, Jo, Adele, Emily and all the parents!  Also, well done and thank you to Jose who completed the Hackney Half Marathon yesterday! He crossed the line in 1:29:07, making him 737th out of 24,000!!! Wow -that's brilliant! And he has raised £165 so far for Empathy Animals! There is still time to donate here: https://give.empathyanimals.org/fundraising/jose-guerra; and also well done to Crystal who also completed the half with very little training!!!

A huge 'well done' to  both girls and boys football teams who played against Betty Layward. The boys had a cracking match with great end to end action, resulting in a 2-2draw.   The girls also had a brilliant match with all of them on fire, winning 10-0!!  A great result for Millfields Boys and Girls football.

A massive ‘thank you’ to all the parents, carers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and pets who have taken part in our brilliant ‘Parents & Families Week’.  The atmosphere around the school has been great and the feedback from parents has been overwhelmingly positive.  There were lots of  fun activities organised including, making packed lunch sessions with Alecia, PE session and EYFS family football with coach Kea, Science lesson with Naomi and Lucy, and landscape drawing on the school roof terrace with Vicky and Clara, as well as  Parents have also volunteered to share/read a story with their child's class at the beginning and end of the school day.  As a direct result of such great feedback from parents and pupils, we will continue to ask for volunteers to read to your child's class, so please contact your child's teacher if you would like to read at the end of the school day.

The children and staff have also really enjoyed meeting some of their friends’ pets too!  We have had dogs, gerbils, tortoises, guinea pigs, cats and fish!  We also loved seeing lots of parents at our age-phase 'Croissants & Conversations' drop-in session each morning.  And Y3 parents really enjoyed our 'Come Dine With Us' sessions -there will be more next half term! There was lots of chat and opportunities to meet new people.  If you would like to see more morning drop-ins, please let us know as this could be an opportunity to ask lots of questions and find out more about the curriculum and the working of the school day.  Also, if you have not yet completed the Parent/Carer Questionnaire, please do so on this link: https://forms.gle/kvak7FEs2mfR31gd6

A huge thank you, to all the staff who organised, supported and ran sessions – Emma, Ashraf, Rana, Sheyenne, Alicia and the kitchen team, Naomi, Lucy and PE Coach, Kea. And of course, thank you to all the staff who have been brilliant at welcoming our community into school and into classrooms all week.  Special thanks to all of the front office staff, especially Donna, who has certainly been busier than usual, as the buzzer has never stopped buzzing! And of course big, big thanks to Vicky, who put the whole week together!

On Wednesday, 30 members of our fantastic choir attended a recording studio to sing for an upcoming advert -this was a great opportunity for the children, and there will be more opportunities coming up so that all the choir members will have a chance to take part another time. Thank you to Roz and Tom for making this happen! More news about where you can hear our children singing in the advert in the near future! Also this week, our ARP children visited Richmond Park -it was a gloriously sunny day and they had great fun, and especially enjoyed the journey there and back!

We have lots of exciting events coming up next half term; it is Democracy Week (3rd-7th July), and Sports Fortnight (10th - 21st July), and the Summer Fair is taking place on Saturday 8th July this year - save the date! Please get in touch with the PSA if you can help in any way psamillfields@gmail.com.  Also, a reminder that Friday 23rd June is an INSET day, so the school will be closed to pupils.

I hope you have a great half term with family and friends, and have fun and a good rest. Fingers crossed for continued good weather!

Best Wishes, Jane

It has been a very busy week at Millfields, and there has been plenty of fun and learning -in class and around the local area, especially on the sporting front! And the Road Safety Officers from KS2 were out and about monitoring the traffic and speaking to road users in the local area.

Firstly, well done to our Y4 and Y5 cyclists who took part in the hackney Downs Cross Country race last Friday! They all rode really well and we came home with 5 medals to add to the overall league totals that see Millfields continue to be some way in the lead! Let's hope we can keep this up and win the league again for the 8th successive year! Well done to Rosie, Safiya, Beatrice, Hugo, Bay, Cedirc, Max, Loutir, Isaac, Aoife, Klara and Bo! Thanks to Nishie and to the parents who supported the event on the day!

Well done also to our Y3 and Y4 super swimmers who took part in a Hackney-wide swimming event on Wednesday. The event was part of a focus on swimmers gaining confidence in the water and being able to compete. They will be receiving a certificate next week from Young Hackney who organised the event. Well done to Mia,Oliver, Riley, Lee, Hibah, Nora, Aine and Teddy! And thanks to Sharon and Donald who accompanied them and supported the children in their  races.

Year 3 also took part in the third of 3 'Personal Best' sessions this week. This is a Hackney event for all Y3 pupils  that asks the children to take part in lots of short active tasks that are timed and measured. The first session took place in the Autumn term, and they checked progress in the Spring term and then this was the final results day. The children had great fun taking part and ALL of the children made progress from their starting points! All of the children received a medal! (Baylis Class -yours are being delivered and given out next week!) Well done!

On Wednesday, the children all looked so smart (as they always do, of course) for their class photo. The sun was shining and the light was perfect for the photographers. Look out for the proof photos that will come your way very soon! The class photo is always a great memento for you and the children!

Thank you to the parents who came in this week to meet with Ashraf and Sheyeemne to find out more about the Y1 Phonic Tests that are coming up in June. I know that those parents who came, found the sessions interesting, and for those who could not make it, we will be sending out the slides and putting them up on the school website.

Next week, as you may know, is 'Parents & Families' Week, and there are lots of opportunities for you to engage with your child in school.  Please sign up via Eventbrite or if you would like to read to your child's class, you can also contact the teacher directly. I hope that lots of you will come to the Coffee Mornings that are taking pace for different year groups each day! And Y3, please sign up for the 'Come Dine With Us' sessions. I look forward to seeing lots of you in school next week!

If you are taking part in the Hackney Run tomorrow, and there are more than 100 children from Millfields taking part, I will see you there! Good luck to you all! Otherwise, have a good weekend, and spend some time resting and relaxing in the sunshine that has been promised!

Take care, keep well and stay safe. Jane

Firstly, well done to all the Year 6 children who completed their SATS this week.  They all worked extremely hard over the year, as did all the staff who work in Y6. All of the children did so well - they were focused after a school breakfast with their classmates, had a positive attitude and tried really hard.  I was super impressed with the calmness and methodical way that the children approached the tests and was especially pleased to see that they had lots of strategies to rely on in the Maths papers.  Well done everyone!  Nationally, it seems that children across the country have found this year's test hard, and particularly the Reading paper, so our children have done really well! Thank you also to the parents who made a contribution towards a surprise pizza delivery for the children today!

They children were very excited to spend some time in the park to unwind, and to avoid the rain came back to school to have pizza! Next week we will continue with the curriculum as we still have a few more weeks of writing assignments that will count towards the end of Y6 assessment grades. And we are excited to start working on the Y6 Show! We are going to be working with  professional actors and writing some of the final script but don't want to say too much as the children don't know what the show is yet! The dates for the shows are in the penultimate week of term -Monday 10th -Hawking, Tuesday 11th -Turing & Wednesday 12th -Anning. Y6 families -make sure the date is in your diary!

The Y2 children are still doing their SATS - Reading and Maths tests until the end of May, and they are also working very hard to show us what they have learnt!  Keep going - you are all being superstars so far!!
Also this week, and last week, the Reception classes visited the Hackney School of Food and learnt how to make dough and made their own pizzas! They also loved looking around the gardens, and saw the resident hens! Jones Class also visited Stepney City Farm as part of our continued work with the charity, Empathy Animals. During their visit they get to feed the animals, think about how animals feel and how they are treated as well as do some observational drawings. We hope that many more of our classes will have an opportunity to visit during the summer term and next academic year.

Well done to all the children who have been running before school every Tuesday, and running in their own time in preparation for the Hackney Run that is taking place next weekend.  Thank you to Ashraf for organising the running, and please look out for a further email that will explain how to get your t-shirt and race number. The Hackney Half is the following day. If you would like to sponsor our staff member Jose, who is running to raise money for Empathy Animals, then please do so here: https://give.empathyanimals.org/fundraising/jose-guerra

Also, we are preparing for 'Parents & Families Week' that is taking place from 22nd -26th May.  There was an email yesterday with details about all the exciting events that are taking place during that week including one of my favourite days of the year - 'bring your Pet to School Day'!  I know that lots of the events are already booked up but please speak to/contact your child's class teacher if you would like to read a story in class.

Tomorrow there is a Jumble Sale in the school playground that has been organised by the PSA. It starts at 11am until 3pm, and there are lots of things for sale, tea & coffee,a dn arts and crafts. Please try to drop in for half an hour!

Finally, a reminder about CLASS PHOTO DAY on Wednesday 17th May -please make sure that your child is wearing their uniform and looks their best.

I hope you have a good weekend, and enjoy whatever you have planned.

Take care and stay well. Jane

We have had a lovely few days during this short week with lots of hard work, learning and fun!

The Y6 children have worked very hard, doing practice SATS papers, as they have the real test next week. We always invite all of Year 6 to come to the Breakfast Club free of charge every morning during the SATS week. We have found in the past that starting the day together with a good breakfast really helps to settle the children ready for their exams. So even if they normally have a great breakfast at home we would encourage you to send your children into the school Breakfast Club during that week so they can start their day with their friends. I am extremely proud of the hard work and effort made by all the children this year, and most recently in the last few weeks in the run up to the tests -working so hard at school and home! I always reassure the children, by saying that we expect them to do their best, and as long as they have tried hard and know they have done their very best, then we will be proud of them no matter what the result.  Please reinforce this with your child at home.

Today, the whole school celebrated the historic coronation of King Charles III. There have been special assemblies, history lessons, art lessons, crown-making and lots of fun and laughter!  The sun was shining, then it rained............the sun came out again...............then there was rain and thunder..........then the sun was out.....then it rained! We had both indoor and outdoor picnics with lovely food made by our amazing catering team! The red, white and blue decorated cupcakes were a hit, and also the most amazing Victoria sponge cake! We also enjoyed brilliant steel pan music while we ate. Also, thanks to Roz and the KS2 Choir who also sang a song written for the King.  All of the children, and staff had a lovely time.  A huge 'thank you' to all the staff who really got into the community spirit of the day, especially all of the kitchen staff and other staff who helped get the food ready, and to Darren, Luis and Juan who set up and tidied up.

One of our favourite weeks at Millfields is coming up -it is Families Week! During the week 22nd -26th May, we will be having our usual week of fun, inviting parents and carers to take parts in lots of activities, coffee mornings, visits etc, including the ever-popular 'bring your pet' to school. Please see the poster in the Mag and look out for the overview that will be emailed out. You will need to sign up via Eventbrite.We are looking forward to welcoming you into school!

Finally, have a lovely long Bank Holiday weekend. We will see you on Tuesday 9th May.

Take care,

Jane

Firstly, it has been a great week in Y5 as the majority of the year group have been on a 2 night residential trip to Kench Hill in Kent. The weather was not too good at the beginning of the week, but that didn't stop the excitement, enthusiasm and enjoyment. Both groups enjoyed lots of outdoor activities including a 3 mile hike through ancient woodlands, fields and streams, shelter building, archery, orienteering, climbing, team building games and time to explore the grounds -play football, basketball, feed the horses and spot rabbits and chickens. The children were all so well-behaved, polite, engaged and interested to explore new environments and learn new things. Well done to all the children. Going away with the children on any trip is one of my favourite things to do, and I loved being with Y5 on this residential  A huge 'thank you' to the staff at Kench Hill, and also to our staff -Emma, Ben, Dudley, Lucy, Isabelle, and especially Sheyenne who organised the whole week!

The Y5 back in school also had lots to do this week! Some were involved in the daily Confident Cycling course, there was lots of chess played, a Computing project and lots of Art and PE. They also visited Stepney City Farm as part of our ongoing work with them with Empathy Animals, the charity with the therapy dogs -Bobby, Peppi and Nigel that we work with.They had a great time there feeding the animal,s, sketching them, and thinking about the way the feel and behave and how our behaviour can influence that. The children have all been great this week!

If you would like to support the charity Empath Animals, our very own lovely TA Jose is running the Hackney Half Marathon later in May, to raise some money for them, Best of luck Jose, we are with you all the way! See the link here: https://give.empathyanimals.org/fundraising/jose-guerra

Also this week, the catering staff have been busy preparing the menu for our special King's Coronation Picnic that is taking place on Friday 5th May. (Hope the weather holds!!) If your child usually has a packed lunch from home, but you would like your child to have the school picnic on Friday, please pay in the usual way via Scopay.

Thank you again to all the families for their support for the teacher's over the last and upcoming strike day. I know that it may seem disruptive to your child's learning, and obviously inconvenient for many of you to find childcare etc, but we feel that the children are working really hard during school hours and we are making sure that not one bit of the curriculum is missed! The action by NEU members is not just about missing a day of learning from your child, it is action to secure the future of education in England, so thank you for your understanding, patience and support.

Finally, well done to our Y3 and Y4 runners who took part in the Hackney cross country competition on Wednesday -they did really well against some much older children from other schools! Also, all of your Y3 children were involved in Personal Best workshops this week. This is a Hackney-led initiative that encourages the children to improve their fitness through quick stamina building drills. The children are tested 3 times over the year with the aim to make personal improvement over time! They all tried really hard and looked like they had lots of fun too!

Remember, it is the long May Bank holiday weekend, and school is also closed on Tuesday 2nd May due to strike action, so we will see you all back in school on Wednesday 3rd May.

I hope the weather improves and that you have a good one.

Take care, and keep well. Jane

REMINDER: The school will be closed to children on Thursday 27th April and Tuesday 2nd May due  to industrial action.

Y5 Residential Trips: Monday 24th - Wednesday 26th April and Wednesday 26th April - Friday 28th April