Welcome back to everyone! All the children seem very happy to be back in school, they look well-rested and ready for the busy summer term!

It has been a very calm and relatively quiet week (by Millfields standards!) and all the classes seem to be settled, and have adjusted to the few new adults in class and around school. Hopefully you will have noticed that the scaffolding on Hilsea Street side has been removed, so the front of the building and the playground look and feel so much bigger -this is a great relief to us all! The final scaffolding that is around the Nursery will be removed at half term, so we are nearly there! And thankfully, the new roof did not let any rain in after the heavy rainfall on Wednesday either!

This week, teachers have been introducing the new learning for this term and there is a real buzz around the school about William Shakespeare! Each year-group is studying a different
Shakespeare play or poem, and there has been a lot of great role play, brilliant orating, puppet making and fantastic character and setting descriptions. Some of the plays being read are Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale. The children in Y2 know lots of facts about Shakespeare too. He was born in Stratford upon Avon, he died on 23rd April in 1616, his plays were on stage at The Globe Theatre and lots more. There have already been some brilliant acting and drama sessions around the class play, so the children are really immersing themselves in the world of Shakespeare. I am looking forward to reading some of the children's rewrites of the plays and scripts in the next few weeks!

Thank you to all the parents who attended the 'Childhood Anxiety' workshop this morning. This was very well-attended and I believe that the parents who came along found it useful to support their child at home and school. We are hoping to run another one this term and will keep you posted.

I cannot believe that we are at the end of the Spring term already and that means that as part of the restructure, we are sadly saying 'GOODBYE' and 'GOOD LUCK' to many of our staff today who have been a big, big part of the Millfields' community for so many collective years that I cannot start to add them up! Today has been marked with sadness, but also celebration as we mark the staff's individual and collective contributions to Millfields life, the children's learning, care, support and experiences. They have been huge.

We will of course miss you all, but know that for some of you, this is an opportunity for early retirement, for others, a chance to have a rest and spend more time with family and friends, for some, just the time to re-set and then move on to new adventures - I cannot thank you all enough, and wish each and every one of you all the very best for the future. I hope our paths will cross again, and I know that some of you will stay connected through friendships made whilst at Millfields.

We will, of course, maintain and further develop your individual and collective legacies going forward. Thank you, Roz for the brilliant music provision and experiences, and love for music that you have created; thanks to Belen, we will continue to be excellent Spanish speakers and linguists; thank you for the expertise and skills of the staff who support our children with additional needs, and those who support groups of children in class to become independent, confident learners; thank you for the care, nurture and confidence that our Nursery Officers give our children at the beginning of their school journey; thank you to Sharon for her enthusiasm and passion for sports; thank you to Chris for his mentoring and support of so many children over the years. It feels like the end of an era, for me personally and for the school. I think I probably interviewed and appointed all of the staff leaving today, lots of them saw my son grow up from a toddler in the Nursery, and they have been here to support me, and the school through the many ups and a few downs, and a part of me will go with them today.

It has been STEAM Week and all classes have thoroughly enjoyed STEAM - the 'World of Work' Week. We started the week with a special assembly. Nursery children learnt about different jobs including being a builder, a doctor, a shop-keeper, a postal worker and a police officer. They en-joyed dressing up and learning about what all the different people do in these jobs. Reception clas-ses also learnt about jobs with nature and animals - being a vet, a zoo-keeper, and enjoyed a visit from the Cats Protection Association to learn how to care for your pet. Year 1 learnt about being a fire-fighter, and really enjoyed their trip to Homerton Fire Station; Year 2 learnt about jobs in the building world and had a visit from Higgins workers to talk about the different roles and jobs.

Year 3 got involved in the world of architecture and engineering and visited the national London Archi-tecture Association to learn more about these jobs. Year 4 enjoyed a visit to the National Centre for Circus Arts and loved learning some new skills and tricks! Year 5 learnt about ethical businesses and visited KPMG and Kessler's to learn more about how they operate and to present their work. Finally, Y6 also spent the week in the 'Dragon's Den' world - designing and presenting a new product that they created, to staff at the Financial Conduct Authority dedicated campus for innovators, disruptors and visionaries! Look out world for our future business successes! It is always an amazing week for the children to think about what they might like to be in the future!

I am sure that your children will have been talking to you about the week, so please ask them lots of questions! Thank you to staff at Inspire and Lucy and Naomi who organised and managed the whole week seamlessly!

A massive 'THANK YOU' to everyone for dressing up in your party clothes, bringing in lots of lovelyfood and joining in our celebration of Eid across the whole school. I hope that all our Muslim families enjoyed their Eid celebrations earlier this week as they marked the end of Ramadan, and I know that all of the children have enjoyed their Eid parties in class today, and Y6 earlier this week.

Finally, I hope that you all have a restful break with family and friends. Enjoy the sunshine! And please be assured that even though the Millfields family may be getting a bit smaller today, we will remain strong and steadfast in our core values going forward, and continue to do our very best for each and every child.

Take care and stay well. Jane

We have had another busy week at Millfields, not sure if there is ever a week that is not busy here, and I cannot believe that there is only one week left before the Easter break!

Firstly, thank you to all the many parents who met their child/ren's teacher during Parents Evenings this week. We hope that you found the meetings useful and that your children made you feel proud of all the progress they are making. Thank you to the parents who spoke with our Governors, and also to the family Coaching Service who were able to signpost and help lots of parents too. The information was shared in last week's Mag if you would like more information.Thank you also to the parents leading the 'Smartphone Free Childhood' campaign. They were gathering more information and signing more of you up to the pact. Millfields is the top school in East London when it comes to parents signing this pact (of 206 schools!). So if you haven't already and are interested, CLICK HERE TO SIGN

It seems like a very busy and very long week, and I cannot believe that there are only two weeks left before the Easter break!

Today, the school playground and corridors were filled with chatter and laughter as the whole school celebrated Comic Relief - Red Nose Day! The children and staff were dressed in red, and some in green, and and there were lots of red noses on show! We have sold more than 500 red noses, and have found only one rare ruby nose at Millfields  and also raised lots of money from on-the-gate donations. Thank you, as always, to the Millfields community - all the money will be going towards Comic Relief charities!

Also around school today, Y1 children dressed up as their favourite Nursery Rhyme characters - they all looked great and could tell me all about the characters that they were dressed up as. Olympus Class Sharing Assembly was also about all the Nursery Rhymes that they have been learning about and doing lots writing, reading and performing! Thank you to all the parents who came to support their children.

Yesterday some of our Cycling Team from Y5 and Y6 took part in the 6th Hackney Cycling League event at the Olympic Velodrome. The whole team did so well, and all clocked high finish times -a couple of first, second and third and all placed in the top 8, that means everyone contributed to the overall total points that keeps us at the top of the league! Well-done to all the children who took part and continue to make cycling so successful at Millfields. Thank you to Nishie and also to Tom's mum, Saga, who helped out on the day!

On another note, please make sure you get your empty containers ready for our next 'Eco Fill Up Friday' next week - Friday 28th March! Lots of products including washing up liquid, handwash, soaps, fabric wash and body wash!

We are also looking into another eco-opportunity - a Millfields school 'Bike Bus'.  The primary aim of a Bike Bus is to provide an active travel (cycling) alternative to the motorised school run. It helps cut pollution while promoting physical and mental health in pupils.  Pupils get to cycle to school in the safety of a marshalled group, with appeal to those who already cycle to school as well as to many others who don’t. Look out for more information in the coming weeks.

We also celebrated St Patrick's Day in assemblies this week -it seems that there are lots of leprechauns in Hackney causing a lot of mischief! Happy belated St Patrick's Day to all of the Millfields Irish community.

Reminder that the last day of the Spring term is Friday 4th April at the usual times -3:20pm/3:30pm. There are also after-school clubs as usual.

Have a lovely weekend! Take care, keep well, and stay safe.

Jane

This week has flown by, and as always lots has been happening at Millfields!

Wow, it has been a very busy week as children and staff gathered all the amazing artwork produced during Creative Week before half term, and we were amazed by Jess's vision to create the fantastic Art Exhibition that we welcomed children and their families to on Wednesday evening. This year's 'Creative Week' theme was 'Look Around'. All of the children did a local walk in our Clapton community, and each year group focussed on recreating all of the things we noticed and observed in the local area. Every child made their own sketchbook, and also created something that contributed to the whole exhibition.

Children from ARP and Snowden Room visited Clapton Pond to look for fish; Nursery and Reception children created buildings; Y1 looked at insects and their homes, Y2 looked at birds; Y3 studied water, Y4 looked at plants, trees and flowers, Y5 looked at transport and Y6 observed people. The artwork was varied in so many ways and truly represented all that is in our local community.

Every child in the school produced something for the art display, so it was a truly inclusive event. Both parent and pupil feedback was very positive. A massive well done and thank you to all the staff and of course to the very talented children, and to Jess for having the vision and idea to make it happen in the first place! Also, the kitchen team produced some delicious food that was on sale and was enjoyed by many parents and chil-dren – thank you. The whole evening was a lovely community event and is always one of my favourite nights of the year!

It was lovely to welcome everyone back after half term, and to see all the children looking rested and ready for this half term's learning!  A huge THANK YOU to all the children and parents for your support while we use only two entrances and only one playground! It has run relatively smoothly and the main thing is that all the children have been kept safe during this time. We are really hoping that the scaffolding removal on the back playground will be on schedule, meaning that we will be back to the usual gates and a much bigger playground from Monday 10th March.

This week, the majority of Y5 children have been on a 2 night residential trip to Kench Hill, a beautiful old mansion house and grounds in Kent. The weather was mixed, and a bit of rain and mud, but that didn't stop the excitement, enthusiasm and enjoyment.  Both groups enjoyed lots of outdoor activities including orienteering, animal adaptations session, orienteering, climbing, team building games and time to explore the grounds - play football, basketball, play on the play equipment, feed the ponies and spot rabbits and chickens.

The highlight was a visit to the beautiful Leeds Castle, where they walked around the grounds, saw lots of wildlife, water and waterfall, then had a tour of the castle, and had a fantastic time in the maze and caverns, as well as the fort adventure playground and zipwire! The children had a great time and were 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 trip.  A huge 'thank you' to the staff at Kench Hill, and also to our staff -Sheyenne, Emma, Claire, Debi, Isabelle, Tom and Dudley.

The Y5 back in school also had lots to do this week! They had lots of Art and PE sessions, had a bowling trip on Wednesday, and they also enjoyed playing a range of board and card games, before designing and making their own! There were some great efforts and will be in classes to be played during wet play and free time for the rest of term.

Today, we were also treated to 2 brilliant sharing assemblies -the children in both classes, Kilimanjiro and Douro were brilliant. They had all learned their lines, and delivered them well, worked together, supported each other and entertained and educated the parents and carers who came. Well done to them all, and thank you to all the parents who came in. Thank you also to the parents who came in to read in class in Y1 and Y2 today -this happens every Friday, so please try to pop in at 8:50am next week!

Reception children visited Woodberry Wetlands this week as part of their topic work and took part in pond-dipping and minibeasts exploration.  The children had a great time, even though it was very wet for Shannon Class, and they found lots of interesting minibeasts.  Y6 classes also visited Bruce Castle Museum for a workshop about life in Victorian times. This was very useful and has supported in class learning too.

A BIG well done to all the Y5 and Y6 cyclists who braved the cold yesterday to take part in the Mountain Bike racing at Mabley Green.  This was the 5th cycle event of the season and the children did so well despite the conditions and the points collected kept Millfields at the top of the league!  Thanks to Nishie for organising the riders and to Peter for his help.

A reminder, that it is BOOK WEEK next week, and  World Book Day is on Thursday 6th March - save the date in your diary.  World Book Day 2025 will celebrate that children are more likely to enjoy reading when their choices are championed and we make reading fun.  As well as dressing up as a character from your favourite book, (please do not go out and spend money on new costumes - re-use and upcycle!) we are asking you to design and make a 'A book on a String.  Prizes will be going to children from each Key Stage with the best story!  Please see the email that went out earlier this week and again today about all the book activities happening -reading breakfasts for Y3, Y4 and Y5, as well as classes visiting Pages Book Shop, and parents reading to their child's class.

Also, Creative Evening 2025 is finally here! It is taking place on Wednesday 5th March from 4pm-7pm. Tickets for the exhibition cost £2 which is payable at the door. (Adults ONLY need tickets, children are FREE)) Please sign up for a slot to come and view the exhibition via the links on the email sent yesterday. There is also food available to buy on the night. Tickets are selling fast!

Finally, please make sure that we have 2 or more contact numbers for your child - this is a safeguarding issue.  Please email info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk with any additional numbers/contacts or number updates. Have a good weekend –wrap up warm as it is turning colder again!

Ramadan Mubarak to all our Muslim children and families!  May this holy month bring you peace, joy, and blessings. Please see the email about fasting if your child is in Y5 or Y6.

Take care and stay well.  Best Wishes, Jane