It seems to have been a very long and busy week for us all, mainly due to the amount of rain and therefore 'Wet Play'! We really do try to get the children outside as much as possible but sometimes the weather is just too bad and we don;t want the children getting soaked... a little bit of rain is okay but this means that your child needs to be wearing a waterproof coat please!

Despite the rain, the children in class and around school have of course continued to have enriching and enjoyable learning experiences this week.

Firstly, a big 'well done' to both the girls and boys football teams who represented Millfields brilliantly in the 5 aside and 9 aside Hackney leagues. Thank you to Izaac for his support and organisation!

Today was NSPCC Numbers day! THANK YOU to everyone for getting into the spirit and dressing up! There were some fabulous t-shirt designs, lots of dominoes and dice, Rubik cubes, clocks, calculators, as well as lots of home-made maths puzzles. Thank you also for the donations that will be sent directly to the NSPCC to support vital services like 'Speak out, Stay safe' and Childline. We have raised more than £350! The children have enjoyed a day of Maths puzzles, games and problems, and especially the TTime Tables RockStar competition to be the best TTRS individual player and best TTRS class! Winners will be announced in assemblies next week. Thank you to Emma for organising us all!

Also, we are all very excited for next week as it is 'Creative week'. The theme this year is 'Robots: How is the World Changing?' The world is changing through advances in technology, engineering, and artificial intelligence. Robots are increasingly used to help people in areas such as healthcare, transport, space exploration, and industry.  The children in each year group will be focussing on one thing e.g. - Printmaking & Painting in Nursery, 2D Robots in Reception, 3D robots in Y1, junk-modelling robots in Y2, Robot animals in Y3, Futuristic cityscapes in Y4 and Y5 and robot animation and film in Y6.  The children will then produce pieces of artwork based on their specific area throughout the week. For those who are new to Millfields this year, all of the work produced during this week - something from every child, will form an exhibition that parents are invited to visit. Our Art Exhibition will be ready for you all to see on Wednesday 25th February from 4pm-7pm - save the date and look out for more information via email and text about how to book a ticket for the sell-out event!

We will also mark 'Safer Internet Day' on Tuesday 10th February and Children's Mental Health Day that will involve an activity linked with our creative week work, as well as completing a questionnaire, next week on Friday 13th February.

In the meantime, you could get creative and produce some amazing artwork to submit to the Royal Academy of Art. See the link here for more information: https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/

Finally, please note a change in the dates for our upcoming Parents' Evenings. Due to Ramadan, we have moved the Parents Evenings scheduled for March, to Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st April.

I hope you have a good weekend. Take care and stay well. Best Wishes, Jane

We have had another wonderful week of learning, despite the weather and the need for wet play earlier in the week! It is always quite tricky for many children to be inside all day, so we have tried to have some time outside even if it is slightly raining. And there have been so many exciting lessons and learning happening across the school.

The Nursery children have have made kites and luckily we have had lots of wind this week, so they really enjoyed trying them out in the playground earlier this week. Reception classes have been learning about space, and have been reading books, painting and drawing, learning about planets, rockets, Martians and lots more. Shannon Class shared their learning in a lovely first Sharing Assembly this morning. Thank you to all the parents who came and for your support in getting the children ready. It was lovely to see and hear all the children confidently share what they have learnt with other EYFS children and their parents.

On Monday, Y5 and Y2 classes took part in fire safety workshops led by local Fire-Fighters. The children were really interested and learnt a lot. Thanks to LFB for their time. They In Geography, Year 5 classes have been learning more about the UK, especially about human and physical geography, the use of land and how this has changed over time. They did some research on the coastal town of Happisburgh. Y2 classes have been learning about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole in History. Y1 classes have been finding out about the kind of toys that their parents might have used and have also been practising their acting skills as part of English work on the book 'Man on the Moon'. Yangtze Class in y4 visited Cardinal pole Secondary School to take part in a DT workshop -they had a great time and brought back the keyrings they made. Well done Yangtze!

Thank you also to all the many Reception parents who attended the Reading session on Monday -we hope you found the session useful and that your child will benefit! Thank you to Sheyenne and Kimberlie for organising and sharing the resources we use in school. After half term, we will be asking parents to volunteer to read in Reception classes at the end of the day, so watch out for the email/on Google Classroom to sign up! Next week on Tuesday 3rd February, there is a meeting for Y1 parents about the Phonics screening check that takes place in June. Please look at your emails to sign up!

Again, thank you also to the parents who attended the Y4 Multiplication Tables Parent Information session on Tuesday. We hope you found it useful and that it will help you support your child to get ready for the tests that take place in June. Please look out for the Power-Point and other information via email for those who could not make it to the session. Thanks to Emma for organising.

Finally, some very exciting news for Fuji Class this week -they wrote letters to the King to tell him about their learning about the role of women in the Second World War and their assembly performance, and his office have written back to Fuji Class -you can see the letter, later in the Mag! Well done Fuji and thank you Bruno!

I hope you have a good weekend -it's definitely getting lighter earlier, so Spring is here! Take care and stay well. Jane

We have had another wonderful week of learning at Millfields! The children have all been very busy in class and around the school.

Reception classes have been learning about space, and have been reading books, painting and drawing - learning about planets, rockets, Martians and lots more. Mersy Class shared their learning in a lovely first Sharing Assembly this morning -lovely singing and great knowledge about the planets and space. It was amazing to see and hear all the children, even though a few were a little bit shy, sharing what they have learnt with other EYFS children and their parents. Thank you to all the parents who came, and for your support in getting the children ready. Well done Mersey Class!

Y3 classes visited Hmapstead Heath as part of Science learning about rocks and soil. It was very wet but lots of fun and learning took place!

Next week, we have lots of meetings for parents to support your child's learning. On Monday 26th, there is a Reception Parents Reading meeting at 9am. Then on Tuesday 27th January at 9am or 5pm, for Y4 parents, there will be an information session about the Y4 Multiplication Tables Test that every child in England takes later this year. The following week on Monday 2nd February, for Year 1 parents, there is a meeting about the Phonics test at 9am / 5.00pm. Look out for emails and texts with more details. We hope to see lots of you there.

Congratulations and well done to the Y5 and Y6 Cyclists who took part in a Roller Bike session this week as part of the Hackney Cycling League. We had quite a few top 3 spots and we continue to lead the Hackney league table after 4 events. Thanks to the parents who came along to support the team and to Nishie as always!

Naomi met with our Eco-Champions this week, and I would like to remind you that they are very keen for you all to get involved in the RSPB National Birdwatch. The Big Garden Birdwatch is for everyone, whether you're a complete beginner or a twitching expert. Simply count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour between 23rd and 25th January 2026. More information here: https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch. Debi and I also talked about this in SLT Assemblies this week, and Y1 and Y2 were keen to share all their knowledge and their sightings of so many different birds, so I have asked them to please bring drawings and paintings of any birds they spot this weekend -thanks in advance for your support!

This week, our Prime Minister, Anayah and her friends trialled a new initiative -'Healthy Snack Shop' for Y5 and Y6 at morning break. The children bought tokens ahead of the break, and there was much excitement around the playground! There was a long queue, and the shop was very busy! The next step is to trial this with Y3 and Y4, and then we will make a decision with the School Council and staff about the way forward if feedback is positive! Thank you to Anayah, Bjorn, Asmi  and Valeria for all their efforts! Well done!

It is nearly that time of the year for Millfields 'Creative Week'. This is happening from Monday 9th - Friday 13th February when the children will all be immersed in this year's creative project that combines creativity with mental health. The children will produce pieces of artwork based on this theme throughout the week. For those who are new to Millfields this year, all of the work produced during this week - something from every child, will form an exhibition that parents are invited to visit. This will take place after half term on Wednesday 25th February, from 4pm-7pm, so please save the date.

Finally, please note the letter/email regarding school uniform and bringing items into school, including toys, jewellery, phones and smart watches! The children have also been talking about this in Class Council. Thanks for your continued support with this.

Have a great weekend. Take care and stay well. Jane

The children have all been working hard and been very busy as usual in class and around school and the wider community. Reception classes visited the Space Gallery in the Science Museum and Y1 classes visited Stepney City Farm this week as part of their Science work this term on animals. They managed to dodge the rain and enjoyed learning more about animals in a Workshop 'Introduction to Farm animals'. They were all really excited to tell me about what they had seen and the animals that they were allowed to touch! Y6 has been reading and researching life in Victorian times and Y5 have continued their work on 'Our Changing World' including coastal erosion. Y3 classes are really enjoying finding out about the Romans in their reading lessons and history lessons, and Y4 are learning all about Spain as a contrasting European country.

Y4 also went on a local walk this week to look at religious buildings in our community and Mekong Class visited Cardinal Pole Secondary School to take part in a DT lesson - they made great keyrings to take home. There will be other trips and workshops to enhance Science and Humanities learning in all year groups over the next couple of weeks so please look out for information on Google Classroom and via email.

As part of our 'Religion and World Views' we are encouraging leaders of all faiths to come into school to talk to classes as part of their learning. If you or someone you know could help here, please do get in touch via info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk The children and staff have also enjoyed seeing the lovely Spanish inspired artwork being displayed around school - the models and sculptures look great - please have a look when you are next in school.

It also was Sibling Photo Day this week and it was so lovely to see all the family groups having their photo taken - all looking smart and happy! Look out for the slip with QR code coming in the next week or so. Thank you to the parents who responded to our text for help, and have offered their old furniture to help make our reading areas outside more comfortable, and to the parents who have donated old dressing-up clothes, tents and books. We are always grateful for all your support and generosity. Please let us know if you have anything to donate by emailing info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk

Also, a reminder that we need to have up-to-date address and phone number details for your child - we need at least 2 numbers for every child. Please either send an email to info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk or call the main office to update any details.

I hope you all have a good weekend. Take care, keep well and stay warm and dry! Best Wishes, Jane

Happy New Year and welcome back to all our children and families. The children have returned looking well-rested, much taller and with lots of stories about their holidays with family and friends.

We also welcomed Kimberlie back to teaching in Y1 Karisimbi Class. We have also welcomed a few new children and their families to different classes across the school this week, but also said 'goodbye' to families who have moved out of Hackney, and in some cases out of London. Good luck to them in their new schools!

It has been a busy first week back and we have loved our learning, especially today as it is 'Hispanic Day'. We really enjoyed seeing all the children and staff dressed up to celebrate all things Hispanic. Some great costumes and lots of colours from the flags of Spanish-speaking countries -thank you for making the effort and for your donations.

As part of this week's learning, children across the school have been learning about different artists including Miro in EY and KS1 and Gaudi in KS2. They have produced some lovely artwork from class paintings, individual masterpieces, to clay models and mosaics. We are hoping to display some of this around school in the next few weeks. Some year-groups have also been researching a different Hispanic country and have learnt lots of new information and facts! Classes in Y3 -Y6  have also been learning a few Salsa and Flamenco moves during PE lessons, and Y1 and Y2 have been making lovely Spanish tapas snacks. Thank you everyone for joining in and making this a fun first week!  All of the week's activities wouldn't have been possible without the enthusiasm and organisation from the staff and manly Debi who planned the activities -'thank you' Debi!

Also this morning, reception classes have been out and about in the local area looking at the changing seasons, (and we have seen a few different weather types this week). especially the change in trees over the year. Also this week, Acaenago Class visited Cardinal Pole Secondary School to take part in a Data Detectives Workshop in their labs -the children had a great time and learnt lots, as well as get to experience life in a secondary school. Other Y5 and Y4 classes will be visiting Cardinal Pole over the next few weeks.

Next week, class WOW trips will be starting -these are trips to enhance in-school learning; it adds context and interest to the class topic! . Reception Classes will be visiting the Science Museum and Y1 classes will be visiting Stepney City Farm. If you are able to support any trips, please contact your child's class teacher directly. Please make sure that you have signed the 'All London Trips letter' ASAP and also made a contribution to WOW trips via SCOpay if you have not already done so. Many thanks for your support. Look out for details of trip on Google Classroom. Please make sure that you and your child check's Google Classroom for information and home learning projects/homework. The termly learning booklet for each class will be sent out via email and posted there early next week.

The Millfields Food Stall starts again next week, and as always, the families using the Family Food Stall are so grateful and it makes such a difference in these tough times for us all. We are always grateful for donations, so please drop any items to the main office on Tuesday, ready for the following day. We always need eggs, tins of soup, pasta, rice, tuna, tinned fruit, veg and meat soup and biscuits, as well as loo roll, washing powder and shower gel. Anything else is also gratefully received. Thank you!

Please also look out for dates for Y5 Kench Hill Parent Meetings, Y4 Times Tables test parent meetings and Y1 Phonics Test Parent meetings coming up this half term. Reminder texts will also be sent!

Finally, a reminder about school starting times. School starts at 8:40am for children in Nursery, Reception, Y1 & Y2, so you need to be at school for 8:35am so the children are in class and ready to learn at 8:40am. For children in Y3, Y4, Y5 & Y6, school starts at 8:50am, so please be at school for 8:45am so they are in class at 8.50am.

Have a good weekend. Stay warm and well. Take care. Jane

Hurrah, and thank you everyone, we made it, (well most of us) to the end of term! We celebrated the end of term today with 2 'Sing along' concerts with the children. All of the staff joined in and entertained the children with the ever popular Christmas songs to say a very, merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone. Everyone looked so festive today in their Christmas jumpers and Christmas colours and we have raised more than £300 for Save the Children -thank you!

It has been a long term but a very productive one for all the children and the school community - the children have worked so hard at school and home! This was evidenced brilliantly with the homework projects that the children have been bringing in and have beendisplayed in classes for us all to see.

Well done to all the classes - children and staff, for their amazing costumes, enthusiasm and beautiful singing for our Winter Concerts this week. Each concert was a delight, all different but all equally wonderful and really got us all in the Christmas spirit!  A big 'thank you' to the church for letting us use the venue over the last 2 weeks! Big, big thanks to all the staff for getting the children ready to perform, and 'big thanks' to the Music Teacher, Naomi,  and Tom and Lawrence for their brilliant musical accompaniment at every show.

A special 'well done' to the Nursery and Reception classes who started our week with a brilliant concert that they performed twice in front of a packed school hall. One of the highlights of my week for sure!, along with the wonderful Y6 children who performed so brilliantly at our last Millfields Christmas concert! Thank you to all of you for supporting your children and for joining in with the festive fun with some impressive singing and celebrations, and for your generous donations for the school and church.

Last week, all the classes took part in our now termlyTastEd Day. This was a food technology day where the children enjoyed eating, feeling, seeing and hearing (yes, hearing) a range of different fruits and vegetables. This was a great experience for the children to work with

food and expand their tastes. A huge thanks to Bruno for organising the lessons, and to parent Anna Jones and colleagues from TastEd for coming in to support us. And big thanks to food supplier Natoora for donating all the wonderful fresh produce! Millfields became a TasteEd Ambassador school this year, and Bruno has championed this, and all the brilliant work that the staff at Millfields and TasteEd do at local events as well as within Millfields.

Also this week, the children have all enjoyed a trip to somewhere in London this week for our traditional termly 'London Day'. The children have all reported that they enjoyed their class trips to places such as the National Gallery, Young V&A Museum, Natural Museum, The Wallace Collection, Tate Modern and Nursery visited the local library on their first trip out! It is so fantastic that we get to take the children to so many places in our wonderful city! Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time to help out on the trips.

A huge ‘thank you’ to the whole school community who have been bringing in food donations for the Christmas Bags over the last few weeks. As ever, we are thankful for your individual and collective generosity. Massive thank you to Heather, Kate and others who helped Rema to get the Food Hampers ready! Thank you also to the parents who made cash donations to the Food Bank.

Thank you also, to all of you for the lovely gifts that the staff have received. You are very generous and giving, and it is very much appreciated!

And thank you for all your support during another busy term for us all, with a few new challenges as always, for children, staff and families, and as always, we have all worked together, so thank you everyone.

Finally we are sadly saying 'goodbye' to Cheneice, Trent Class Reception teacher who is leaving today and moving on to manage her own Nursery provision. I am sure that you will join me in thanking her for all her hard work and wishing her all the very best for the future.

Have a lovely holiday and enjoy the festive period. Term starts for the children on Monday 5th January. 'Merry Christmas' everyone. And 'Hanukkah Sameach' to those celebrating Hanukkah.

Take care, Jane

Hurrah, and thank you everyone, we made it, (well most of us) to the end of term! We celebrated the end of term today with 2 'Sing along' concerts with the children. All of the staff joined in and entertained the children with the ever popular Christmas songs to say a very, merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone. Everyone looked so festive today in their Christmas jumpers and Christmas colours and we have raised more than £300 for Save the Children -thank you!

It has been a long term but a very productive one for all the children and the school community - the children have worked so hard at school and home! This was evidenced brilliantly with the homework projects that the children have been bringing in and have beendisplayed in classes for us all to see.

Well done to all the classes - children and staff, for their amazing costumes, enthusiasm and beautiful singing for our Winter Concerts this week. Each concert was a delight, all different but all equally wonderful and really got us all in the Christmas spirit!  A big 'thank you' to the church for letting us use the venue over the last 2 weeks! Big, big thanks to all the staff for getting the children ready to perform, and 'big thanks' to the Music Teacher, Naomi,  and Tom and Lawrence for their brilliant musical accompaniment at every show.

A special 'well done' to the Nursery and Reception classes who started our week with a brilliant concert that they performed twice in front of a packed school hall. One of the highlights of my week for sure!, along with the wonderful Y6 children who performed so brilliantly at our last Millfields Christmas concert! Thank you to all of you for supporting your children and for joining in with the festive fun with some impressive singing and celebrations, and for your generous donations for the school and church.

Last week, all the classes took part in our now termlyTastEd Day. This was a food technology day where the children enjoyed eating, feeling, seeing and hearing (yes, hearing) a range of different fruits and vegetables. This was a great experience for the children to work with

food and expand their tastes. A huge thanks to Bruno for organising the lessons, and to parent Anna Jones and colleagues from TastEd for coming in to support us. And big thanks to food supplier Natoora for donating all the wonderful fresh produce! Millfields became a TasteEd Ambassador school this year, and Bruno has championed this, and all the brilliant work that the staff at Millfields and TasteEd do at local events as well as within Millfields.

Also this week, the children have all enjoyed a trip to somewhere in London this week for our traditional termly 'London Day'. The children have all reported that they enjoyed their class trips to places such as the National Gallery, Young V&A Museum, Natural Museum, The Wallace Collection, Tate Modern and Nursery visited the local library on their first trip out! It is so fantastic that we get to take the children to so many places in our wonderful city! Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time to help out on the trips.

A huge ‘thank you’ to the whole school community who have been bringing in food donations for the Christmas Bags over the last few weeks. As ever, we are thankful for your individual and collective generosity. Massive thank you to Heather, Kate and others who helped Rema to get the Food Hampers ready! Thank you also to the parents who made cash donations to the Food Bank.

Thank you also, to all of you for the lovely gifts that the staff have received. You are very generous and giving, and it is very much appreciated!

And thank you for all your support during another busy term for us all, with a few new challenges as always, for children, staff and families, and as always, we have all worked together, so thank you everyone.

Finally we are sadly saying 'goodbye' to Cheneice, Trent Class Reception teacher who is leaving today and moving on to manage her own Nursery provision. I am sure that you will join me in thanking her for all her hard work and wishing her all the very best for the future.

Have a lovely holiday and enjoy the festive period. Term starts for the children on Monday 5th January. 'Merry Christmas' everyone. And 'Hanukkah Sameach' to those celebrating Hanukkah.

Take care, Jane