What a brilliant day the Millfields community had last Saturday! The Summer Fair was a huge success as always - and the weather was very kind, not too wet or too sunny! Just perfect! The PSA committee and other parent volunteers did an amazing job - it ran like clockwork. There were lots of great games and activi-ties, karaoke, the school choir singing, food and drink, arts and craft stalls, lots of pre-loved things to buy, tombola and the raffle and lots more. Thanks to everyone for coming along and joining in the fun and helping to raise a fantastic £10,003.62! This includes money raised through boards sponsorship and the silent auction that made more than £850.00. THANK YOU to each and every parent who volunteered before, during and after the event, and to those who donated raffle prizes, but a special thanks to all of the PSA committee, especially Heather, Alessandra, Melissa, Bettina, Sheena, Kate D, Kate G, Kate W, Kate S, Sereen, Chris,Alice and Reshma!! A great community effort!

On this note, it is tinged with sadness that I wanted to thank Heather for all her amazing, tireless work as the PSA Chair, as she steps down this year to hand over. I am sure that the whole community agrees that Heather has been tremendous in the post and a true supporter of the pupils, staff and the school as a whole -an inspiration. Thank you Heather.

Sports Fortnight continued this week, with more sports activities and LKS2 and KS1 Sports Days. The children again enjoyed a chance to try out a new sport including netball! And the ever popular morning aerobics continued until Thursday! Again - thank you to Ashraf for organising us all!

A special congratulations and well done to all of the 30 + riders who have taken part in the Cycling League events over the year. They won the league quite convincingly again, and we are so proud of them all! There were big shoes to follow with organising the team of riders from across Y4, Y5 and Y6, so thanks to Nishie and the parent volunteers for making this another amazing year!

So, just like that we are at the end of another busy, fun-filled, and immensely enjoyable year at Millfields,and I can only again, thank the whole school community - the children, the parents and families and the brilliant staff we have at Millfields, who have worked hard every day, who have all made it another fabulous chapter of learning. A huge ‘thank you’ to all the amazing parents and carers who have supported their children and the whole school community in so many ways. Highlights of the year for me have been many, but I will just mention a few - greeting all the lovely Nursery & Reception children every morning, Families Week including 'Bring Your Pet to School, Creative Evening, the Summer Fair, World Book Day dress up and books in a jar, the Y6 Show, all the trips and visits, The Hackney Run, all the sporting events that we have taken part in, and especially winning the Cycling League for the 9th successive year... the list goes on! And not forgetting a successful Ofsted Inspection as well!

The whole school went out to parks across London yesterday for our summer London Day. It was a lovely day with so many great adventures and activities for all the children - tree climbing, rounders games, nature art, making dens, and so much more! A lovely end to the year altogether. As well as being a celebratory time of the year - finishing primary school and moving on, this is also a sad time for the Y6 children and their families, and for me and many of the staff who have seen the current Y6 group develop into confident, inclusive, brilliant, thoughtful and all round amazing human beings - our change-makers for the future! As they get ready to move on to the next stage in their educational journey, we celebrate the brilliant individuals and collective year group who have been true ambassadors for the school in every way and on every forum.

From their very first day, at the start of their journey at Millfields, it has been a joy and privilege to get to know them! They have thoroughly enjoyed the last few weeks (and Ihope the last 7 or 8 years!) at Millfields - the Y6 play, 'Going for Gold;' which was brilliant, Sports Day, the trips and other activities, and of course, the Y6 Party last Friday - there were so many emotions, but mostlythey had a great time. Thanks to the parents for putting on such a great event for them! Thank you to all the children and their families in Y6 - you have all been so supportive and we will miss you all! Good luck on the next stage of your journey and remember – continue to make sure your voice is heard and be the best thatyou can be! Be kind, be brave and be brilliant!

As this is the last Mag of the year, we are also saying a goodbye and a huge ‘thank you’ to some members of staff who are moving on/taking time out for new and exciting ventures or retiring. Good luck and best wishes to Mehmet, who is retiring after 20 years at Millfields; Cynthia who is also retiring after 2 stints over12 years at Millfields; and Emily, who is moving to a promotion in another school out of the borough. Good luck to them all in their new ventures, and please stay in touch!

We are also saying goodbye to 2 of our long-standing governors. Huge 'thank you' to Joe Walker and Gordon Murray who are both stepping down from their positions after more than 20 collective years of service and commitment to Millfields. I know you will join me in thanking all of them for all their work at Millfields and wishing them all the best and good luck for the future!

Good luck also, to all the children and families who are moving out of London to new houses and new schools in the UK and further afield over the summer – we will miss you all! T

hank you everyone, have a great summer break -hope the weather improves. I will see you on Wednesday 4th September. Take care and stay well! Jane

We are at the end of a very busy, fun-filled, and really enjoyable Sports Week full of a variety of sporting activities!  Each morning started with lots of energetic aerobics and dancing, which the children, staff and some of the parents loved!  Thanks to all the staff who got involved, for their morning aerobics and fitness sessions!  The children have also enjoyed the opportunity for extra PE sessions this week including the daily mile around the school each day; and lots of different activities that have been on offer for children in different year groups.

Tag Rugby sessions took place for all children in Y1, Y3, Y4,Y5 & Y6 - many thanks to Hackney Rugby FC for volunteering their time and patience! EYFS and Y2 will have sessions next week. Thanks to BLOK Gym who have given us free sessions at their gym this week and next week -the children have loved it! The children across different year groups have also enjoyed tennis sessions, roller-bike sessions, hockey sessions and cricket.

UKS2 Sports Day was great fun on Wednesday, the children were very engaged in all the activities and it was very competitive too, and that was only the parents!  Yesterday Nursery and Reception children had a great time at their Sports Day activities at Millfields Park. Thanks to all the parents and carers who supported their children at Sports Days.  Big thanks to all the staff who have supported the activities including Jose, Reegan, Joseph, Nishie and Dudley.

Also, yesterday, we had a special visit from basketball player, Danny Evans, who did a fitness circuit with all classes, and then taught them lots of basketball skills. Thanks to all the children and the parents who contributed and made this visit possible,while raising money for the school too.

A huge 'thank you' to Ashraf and Debi for organising us all, and to Sharon, Kea and Tom - our PE coach for the week, and all the staff who worked hard to make the Sports Days and other activities run so smoothly!

More sports activities and Sports Days next week, so sports clothes and water bottles again next week (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)!

Also yesterday, the Cycling Team was in action for the final race of the season, at the grass track on Hackney Downs. They did brilliantly, and although we have not been officially notified, we think/hope that the Hackney Cycling League Shield will be coming back to Millfields for another year! All of the children who have been involved in cycling over this year have done brilliantly -thank you to all of them. Thanks also to all the parents who have supported the team and a special thanks to Nishie who always organises the team and gets them there in time!

Today, it was Transition morning for all of the children and staff.  Children met their new teacher and the teacher met their new class.  We welcomed lots of new children to the Nursery and Reception - lots of little brothers and sisters, as well as welcoming new teachers, Sohra, Rachel, Hollie and Polly to the Millfields staff team.  All our classes are named after rivers and mountains from across the UK and the rest of the world, so it is going to take all the staff and children some time to match the teacher to the class names, but I hope that your child will have spoken to you about their class name and that you will help them research and find out more about their class names over the holidays.

It is always a difficult task to allocate teachers to classes and there are always many reasons that my team and I have to consider when making this decision, factors that you may not be aware of as parents, but please be assured that the decisions are not taken lightly and much thought always goes in to the process to ensure the best outcomes, both academically and socially, for all of the children in the class as a whole, and for all the classes across the school.  The class allocations for the next year can be found on the website under the parents information section and here in the Mag.  Support Staff allocations have not yet been finalised, but will be decided by the end of the year and shared in September.

Next week, the Y6 show will be ready and live -'Going for Gold'. I am really looking forward to seeing it! Y6 parents -there will be tickets sold on the door on your classes allocated day!

One more week to go! Next week, we will continue to have morning aerobics, and lots of other sporting activities, so please continue to wear sports clothes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It is LKS2 (Y3 and Y4) Sports Day on Monday 15th, KS1 (Y1 and Y2) Sports Day on Tuesday 16th, and the whole school London Day is Thursday 18th July -children MUST wear uniform on that day. The whole school will be going to different parks across London -for activities and games and a picnic lunch/party for the end of term!

Please remember that you need to complete a leave request form if your child needs time off during term time, and that this needs to be considered and authorised (or not) before taking the leave.

The teachers have finished writing the annual reports for your child now, so you should expect to receive the report via email over the weekend. If your child is in Y6, Y4 or Y1, you should also receive the KS2 SATS, Multiplication Test Results or Phonics Check results.

Final reminders: School on Friday 19th July at 2:15pm/2:30pm. And tomorrow is The Summer Fair! This is always a great community event, and lots of fun, so we hope to see you all there!

Have a lovely weekend. Take care. Jane

The results are in, and it was such a hard fought contest, and for the first time ever, the 2 parties received exactly the same number of votes -it just shows that every vote counts!!  So, CONGRATULATIONS, to  our new Co-Prime Ministers, John from the Fly High Bluebirds, and Safi from the Red Chilli Heat Waves and, our new Deputy Prime Ministers, Tessa. A'Rayah and Amelia!

A massive 'Well Done' to all the party leaders and deputies - Safi & Tessa, John, Amelia & A'Rayah, Bettina & Suleiman, Nova & Anthony, Marion & Asher for their excellent manifestos and amazing husting speeches, that were all delivered with such confidence and conviction!

All the excitement began on Monday morning, as classes learnt about and revisited what democracy is and where it all began, and why it is so important to have a right to vote! The real democracy fever started, with the children voting for 'members of class' and then the election of 5 excellent leadership candidates!  There were lots of fantastic ideas ranging from more meal options, more chill out spaces to help our well-being, a new behaviour points system, empathy cats, a litter-picking team and more bins, and so much more!

Thank you to the party advisors - Adele, Tashnim & Izaac, Nino, Lucy and Dudley for supporting and guiding them.  All of the fantastic ideas will definitely be part of the work that all the candidates will be doing next year as part of the Millfields Cabinet.  I am really looking forward to working with them and making some changes next year!  All of the manifestos and the daily newspaper can be read on the website. I would also like to say a huge 'thank you' to Iris and Orla, our out-going PM and Deputy, who have been great at pushing for change, and been true ambassadors for our school and community!  Finally a big 'thank you' to the film crew from Fully Focussed, who have been here all week on behalf of Ashoka, our changemaker partner, who will be sharing our amazing democracy work with schools across the UK and the world! We are really grateful to have something documented for us to share and to keep for our own records and memories, and to have our work shared with others.

It has had a brilliant 'Democracy Week' that this year has coincided with the general election, so it has been even more exciting than usual! There are some fantastic ideas in the party manifestos, a great debate, a very professional press conference, loud and purposeful march, an impressive and informed hustings, amazing teamwork and great reporting.  This week is truly magical and showcases all that is so brilliant about all the children, staff and wider community at Millfields!

All of the children from across the school have been so involved in all of the activities and events this week.  They have been learning about democracies, the voting process, parliament and world leaders, and have been excited to hear all the candidate's ideas for our school.  The children made fantastic rosettes, and took part in a march around the local area to support and promote their parties.  They then listened to the leaders' speeches, cast their vote in the Millfields' polling station and they heard the PM announcements.  There have also been lots of Y6 journalists and vloggers/bloggers at work, writing articles, sharing the gossip and showing the results of questionnaires, for the daily Democracy Week newspaper, 'The Democratic Voice'', as well as gathering opinions and views and making online videos etc.  Huge 'thank you' to Sheyenne who organised and coordinated the newspapers.  Finally, the whole week has been organised so meticulously and creatively by Emma! Thank you so much as always!

Next week is the beginning of 'Sports Fortnight' and I am hoping that all of the children will really enjoy all the activities that are planned.  Please note that children can wear different sports clothes and sports shoes/trainers every day during next week and up until Thursday 18th July.  As already mentioned, Sports Days for all the year groups have already been advertised in the Mag and via email.  Text reminders will also be sent! At the moment it looks like it might be raining on Tuesday and Wednesday, so please keep checking texts/emails to note any potential changes! Then on Thursday 18th July, it is Lonfdon day, when all the classes will be visiting a famous London park! Packed lunches needed!

Please also be reminded that time off during term-time is not an automatic right and that any leave of absence must be authorised before booking any flights/holidays etc.  Schools are closely monitored for attendance, so anything below 90% attendance is considered a cause for concern.

Finally, it is the SUMMER FAIR on SATURDAY 13th JULY from 11am-3pm. Please save the date and hope to see lots of you there and hope that the weather is good!

Have a good weekend. Take care and keep well. Jane

DEMOCRACY WEEK is HERE!

DAY 4

So we marched around the local streets and came back to school to listen to some amazing speeches delivered by our confident and passionate canddiates. Read all about it here: Democratic Voice

DAY 3

Yesterday, the candidiates took part in a Press Conference where the parties answered some tough questions from the voting pupils!

Read all about it here in Wednesday's edition of the Democratic Voice.

DAY 2

There is great excitement aroud n school as the oarties are getting their manifestos ready, and the children are talking about the school, local and world issues that our winners will pledge to tackle!

Read all about it here in Tuesday's edtion of the 'Democratic Voice'

DAY 1

Echoing the fevered political discourse across the country, there was intense speculation as to who the party leaders will be, hoping to be the next Prmie Minister at Millfields! Who will be chosen to lead this year's political parties!

For an exclusive reveal, please click on the first issue of the 'Democratic Voice' from the Y6 team.

We have had another busy week in school, as the children have been very busy completing end of year assessments in reading and Maths, and the teachers are finishing writing the Annual Reports, which the leadership team will read before they are sent out to parents/carers on Friday 12th July.

We also had class photos taken this week, so look out for the proof to buy them next week! We have also been finalising the Y6 Leavers Book -this is always a sad time for me as we get ready to celebrate the Y6 achievements as well as say goodbye. There are so many memories and special moments to remember and a few more still to come before the end of term!

This week,the Reception teachers have been on home visits to meet the new children starting at Millfields in September! Thanks to all the staff for making this happen and for getting to know our new families. Children currently in our Nursery Classes will be hearing about start dates and the welcome picnic ASAP. I also know that lots of children (and parents) have been asking about the teachers for next year from Y1 -Y6. The children will find out on Transition Day that is Friday 12th July. On this day, the children will meet their new teacher and will spend the morning with them -the class details will then be in the Millfields Mag on that day.

This week has been the Hackney Music Festival which is a celebration of all the amazing talent from schools across Hackney that culminates in performances every day at the Round Chapel.
On Tuesday, some of our rock bands took to the stage and wowed the audience with their profes- sionalism and talent. Thanks to Tom for getting the bands ready to rock! Then on Thursday, the KS1 and KS2 choirs took part in the Schools' Singing Festival!  Lots of parents attended to enjoy the beautiful singing. Thanks to Roz for teaching the songs and for allowing the Millfields children to shine!

Also this week, Fuji Class took part in the Hackney Daily Mile Festival at Hackney Downs. Fuji class children do a run every day to keep them fit and to clear their heads to be ready to learn, so they did really well and brought back lots of medals. Well done to all of them! And thanks Bruno, Sharon and Chantelle for going with the class and encouraging them to do their best.

On Tuesday there was great excitement in Y5 Acatenango Class as they took part in a filming session for the children's TV show, 'Operation Ouch'. Dr Ronx and Dr Chris were in school to film an episode with us, as we are apparently their favourite Hackney school! The children got an insight into how much goes into a short amount of film and really enjoyed the whole experience!

Next week is Democracy Week, when all the children will be hearing about school, local and global issues that we will take on next year through electing our new Prime Minister! This year our annual event has coincided with the General Election so there is going to be lots of politics and spin around school. The most important thing to reinforce with your child, that we will be speaking about next week, is that we live in a democracy, where everyone has a voice and we should all use our voice/our vote to make a stand, make a change.

Finally, there does seem to be a lot of different illnesses around at the moment. Please continue to let the school know via StudyBigs or the dedicated absence line, if your child is unwell in any way, and remember that you must complete an absence request form if your child needs a day off school for any other reason. This needs to be done in advance and must be authorised.

It has also been brought to our attention that there may be a stranger -man, in the local area behind Clapton Girls School, asking children if they want sweets. Please talk to your child, especially Y5 and Y6 who have permission to walk home alone,  about stranger danger. Thanks for your support with this.  

FINAL REMINDERS:  *Summer Fair is Saturday 13th July *School finishes on Friday 19 July at 2:15pm/2:30pm. There are no After-school Clubs that day.

Have a good weekend, take care, keep well and stay safe everyone. Best Wishes, Jane

I cannot believe that we are getting closer and closer to the end of this academic year already -only 4 weeks to go, and there is still so much to do and so many events to organise and take part in!

On Wednesday evening, it was our annual Summer Choir and Instrumental Evening that took placeat St James Church. It was, as always, a lovely event with beautiful singing, and some amazinginstrumental ensembles - guitars, violins, brass, rock-bands and solos. We certainly have somevery talented children. A huge thank you to all the tutors who have taught the children this year.

Thanks to Tom, Luciano, Harrison and Simeon for being there on the evening to support the chil-dren! Thanks to Emma, Debi and Sheyenne for their support too, and of course, a huge 'thank you'
to Roz for making the whole thing happen.

Next week is Assessment Week, so all the children in Y1 - Y6 will be completing Maths and Reading texts, and completing a piece of writing. Alongside this, the teachers have been busy completing the end of year Annual Reports that will be emailed out during the penultimate week of term -there will be a text to alert you when they have been sent.

We have also been busy preparing for our annual Democracy Week that is scheduled to take placeduring the week beginning 1st July. This is always an exciting week in the Millfields calendar as we elect our Prime Minister for the following academic year. It is always a great week as the atmosphere around school is exciting and full of great debate and chat from Reception to Y6. The children learn about democracy, voting and thinking about school, local and global issues. Thanks in advance to Emma for all her organisation.

Our outgoing PM, Iris and her Deputy, Orla, along with members of the school cabinet have done a great job this year and have been proactive and industrious this year. There is always a brilliant daily Pupil Newsletter that week, so look out for that and keep up to date with all the action.

Then the following 2 weeks are Sports Fortnight, and there has, again, been lots and lots of plan-ning and preparation - thanks to Ashraf. The children will all take part in a Sports Day, (the dates
can be found in the Mag and on the school website.) and they have lots of opportunities to play and try a range of sports activities, make delicious snacks and enjoy the great outdoors. If you have notalready let us know -if you can help out or offer an outdoor/new activity, please contact Ashraf (amohi@millfields.hackney.sch.uk) or see one of SLT at the main gates.

On Wednesday, Year 5 visited the London Docklands Museum as part of their work on tradeacross the world. The children enjoyed the visit and learnt lots by completing a special booklet/quizwhile going around the exhibitions. They also enjoyed some time playing in the park.This week, Y6 classes visited Sir John Soane's Museum as part of their History work on Ancient Greeks. The sessions focused on Ancient Greek culture and architecture, and the children looked at examples of artefacts, ancient Greek myths and the features of classical architecture on the mu-seum floor. They also examined the roles of the Greek gods and goddesses and designed a temple dedicated to a chosen god/goddess.

Also, Year 6 children continue to be busy this week rehearsing for their end of year show, writing blurb for the Yearbook, and practising for Sports Day, as well as keeping up with the rest of the curriculum that needs to be covered by the end of the year! The dates for the shows are Monday15th - Yukon, Tuesday 16th - Orinoco and Wednesday 17th - Mississippi. All shows start at 6pm.

Tomorrow, Saturday 22nd June, is Windrush Day. Each year, we celebrate British Caribbean communities and acknowledge the contributions the Windrush generation and their descendants have
made to British society. We marked the day in assemblies, and as part of their Humanities work, Year 4 studied the Windrush story. They visited Hackney Museum to consolidate their learning andtook part in special workshops.

Finally, all of the children in Reception to Y5, will be finding out who their new teacher is on ourTransition Day - Friday 12th July. Families will be informed later that day in the Millfields Mag.SAVE THE DATE: Saturday 13th July is the Summer Fair, as this is always a great community event.

Have a good weekend, and enjoy the lovely weather, for as long as it lasts! Take care, Jane

It seems like it has been  a very busy week again, especially in Reception classes as they have been out on their annual trip toThe Diana Memorial Gardens in Kensington. They had a great day out and managed to avoid the rain showers!

The Y5 and Y6 Cycling Team were in action yesterday, and the team, as always, all tried their very best and I believe we have some more medals on the way -places and times still to be confirmed. We managed  lots of top 10 finishes, so another big points win for the league.  They were all fantastic, and look like they have almost guaranteed the league title again this year - fingers crossed!  Thanks to Nishie and Bettina for accompanying the children and supporting them!

Thank you to all the parents/PSA members, and Sheyenne who have been organsing the Book Fair over the last week or so, and a huge thanks to all of you who bought a book! The money raised means that we have more than £600 to spend on books for the school library and main library!

This week, we had a visit from the Local Authority to moderate the writing outcomes for our Y6 children. The moderators were so complimentary about the quality, variety and quantity of writing that the children have done over their time in Y6, so we were very happy with the outcome and pleased that all the hard work of the children and Y6 staff was recognised.

Just a reminder, that if your child is in the current Y2, Y3, Y4 or Y5, Musical Instrumental lessons are on offer and need to be booked and paid for by Friday 12th July at 5pm to secure a place for the Autumn term.  Currently we offer guitar, drums, violin, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, clarinet, flute and piano tuition.  The lessons take place weekly, during lesson times for 10 weeks each term.  We have had lots of interest from our Y2 children, but a reminder that if your child is currently having lessons and you want to continue, then you do need to book as well!  Please fill out the google to request instrumental lesson https://forms.gle/9 CAgR waShY yEw de9

There is a music showcase event on Wednesday 19th June at St James' Church at 6:00pm - hope to see many of you there! If your child is taking part in the choir or in an instrumental ensemble, you will have already been contacted by Roz and/or Tom.

Finally, the Sun Safety policy has been emailed out at the beginning of this term.  Please read it and support us with implementing it.  Apparently, there will be hot weather soon, so please make sure that the children are wearing loose fitting clothes that are in keeping with the School Uniform Policy.  Summer uniform includes, blue and white checked dress/ blue/white Polo shirt / navy sweatshirt or cardigan/ navy shorts or navy blue leggings / solid black shoes or trainers in any colour, but please no open-toed sandals as they can be dangerous, especially when they are running around at playtime.

Remember that next Friday 21st June is an INSET Day, so the school is closed for pupils. And the last day of this term is Friday 19th July.

I hope you all have a good weekend -hoping for some better weather for the middle of June!!

Take care, keep well and stay safe. Jane