Firstly, I just wanted to say that all of the children looked very smart  in their uniforms on Tuesday for their class photos.I am really looking forward to seeing the proofs in the next few weeks.

Even though it has only been a 4-day week, there has definitely been lots and lots of learning happening as usual at Millfields! I have seen so many great pieces of writing from children in Reception all the way up to Year 6! There has been a real buzz about writing and lots of children have visited my office to share their writing with me, and I have visited all the classrooms to read their work  -I have been so impressed, well done and thank you!

There has also been lots of planting and learning about the names of the parts of plants and their functions; as well as lots of work on volcanoes in Year 3, making masks in Y5, and learning about healthy lifestyles and balanced diets in Reception. Rosen Class and Lovelace class have also been working really hard on producing their class assemblies. Please look on Google Classroom to see the amazing finished product!

This week, the Millfields Prime Minister, Zuhair Essak in Y6 will be writing to you in the Mag, and post-Covid, he will be working on fulfilling his election promises before the next election that will be taking place during our annual Democracy Week -the week beginning 28th June. We will be reporting weekly on how the Millfields PM is working towards working through his manifesto. Look out for more details of Democracy Week after half term.

Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week, so please ask your child each day about what they have been discussing in class, and please read the 'Well-being' Newsletters -there is one for children, one for parents/carers and one for staff. They will be emailed and available on the school website.

You will see that the Millfields 'Living Wall' on Hilsea Street is doing really well, and we are hoping to extend this further down the street and maybe on to Elmcroft Street too. We had a huge boost this week as one of our brilliant parents, Bettina, applied for a grant to help us make this happen and she was successful in winning £500 towards the project. Massive thanks!  Also, Vicky and the Eco-champs have been working with Eco-Active on a Green Influencers project for the next 8 weeks, and have begun to develop the roof garden. Look out for more news in the coming weeks.

Finally, the Parent Governor Election voting started yesterday, and voting will be open until the end of next Thursday 13th May. Please read the three candidate statements on the email that was sent earlier this week, and cast your vote at the Ballot Box, just inside the playground at the main gates on Hilsea Street. We will announce the winner in next week's Millfields Mag.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care, keep well and stay safe.

Jane

Welcome back to everyone! It sounds like all of the children had a lovely time with family and friends over the holidays. They all seem very happy to be back in school, they all look very healthy having been outdoors, and they all look like they have grown much taller!

We have reached the end of term already! It feels like we have hardly been back for long but we have, as always, we have managed to pack lots of learning and fun into the last 4 weeks!

A massive 'THANK YOU' to everyone for dressing in something blue today as we mark 'Autism Awareness Day'. we are still counting the cash but there is already around £200 -thank you!

Also today we have drawn the winner of the Easter Egg Raffle! There were more than 30 eggs to win! The lucky winner of the big egg is Daniel from Berners-Lee Class, who is so excited, and there were 29 other eggs to be won! The winners have been notified and they will bring their egg home with them today!

Some of the Y6 children have also made brilliant Easter Bonnets. In normal times we would have had a whole school Easter bonnet competition but times are different this year. However, this is the last opportunity for Y6 children to take part so they decided to do it anyway!!

This week, lots of the children who have taken part in online music concerts with their families. The Instrumentalists and singers were all very impressive! Thanks to Roz and Tom and all the Music Tutors who gave up their time to make this happen!

Yesterday, the whole school took part in our half-termly Outdoor Day! the children went to all the local parks that we are so lucky to have on our doorstep, and there were lots of fun and educational activities happening! Fractions with twigs in Y5, Art creations, sketching, PE and games, bird-spotting and many more! We were so lucky with the weather, and the children and staff enjoyed their time out in the open air!

We welcomed Alex back from maternity leave this week, as she takes over Lowry Class from Kamilah, who is now going on maternity leave! There are certainly lots of new babies around Millfields at the moment! Good luck to Kamilah, and I am sure we will be meeting her new addition very soon!

You should have received an email this week about Parents' Evenings that will be taking pace after the holidays online on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th April. Please make sure that you have a Scopay account to make the booking.

Finally, please have a lovely break with friends and family over the next 2 weeks, and let's hope that everyone remembers to follow the guidelines around social-distancing, wearing masks and keeping to the rule of 6 ahead of the shops and hospitality opening on 12th April. We still need to take care and stay safe, and hope that we can return to some more normality soon! Term starts on Monday 19th April -see you then!

Happy Holidays. Stay safe and keep well.

Jane

I cannot believe that we are now at the end of the penultimate week of the Spring term. Since all the children came back into school on 8th March, time has just flown by, and we are almost back to business as usual!

What a wonderful Friday it is as the sun is shining and the school is filled with laughter as we have all dressed up as Superheroes' for 'Red Nose Day' 2021! Thank you to the children and staff for really getting into the spirit of the day, and celebrating the day by dressing up! There were all the usual  superheroes, Spiderman, Superwoman, Batman, Wonder Woman, but this year, there were also lots of 'Super teachers', 'Super' children, and Super NHS workers! We are celebrating the greatness and the superpowers that we all have! Days like these really lift the spirits and the sense of joy and well-being around the school was amazing!

We have sold more than 600 red noses, and have raised an additional £450 plus for Comic Relief. Thank you so much to everyone for their generosity!

This week, we have also marked the fact that this coming Sunday 21st of March is Census Day. The last census was in 2011. To mark the event, Millfields hosted a ‘Let’s Count! Day’ in each year group and took part in the Let’s Count! competition. By taking part, the children developed their maths and geography skills, while also learning about the importance of the census and how the information it collects helps shape the society we live in. Each class decide what they would count, how they would collect the data, and then created graphs and artwork for a wall display. Things being counted included types of transport, recycling and waste facilities, types of houses and animals to name a few. The whole school display will be entered into a competition to win £1000 of equipment for the school. Thanks to all the children and staff, and to Emma for preparing and organising the lessons for us all!

Also this week, we did celebrate St Patrick's Day, even though due to covid restrictions, we really missed listening to the beautiful music and watching the fantastic dancing from the St Patrick's Day Troupe, but there were lots of children talking fondly about previous years, hopefully we will see them again next year again!

We also welcomed back the Cycling League competition to Millfields this week! The cyclists from Y4, Y5 and Y6 completed time trials on the roller bikes. It was a really quick session of racing, and all of the riders were excellent, and those who hadn’t done it before or were very nervous about it definitely gained confidence through the morning. All had a chance to have 3 500m timed races.Well done everyone, and thanks to Remi,Vivienne and Pia for stepping in at the last minute to give it a go! Thank you as always to our super parents - Paul, Alistair and Andrew for organising and running the session!

Finally, Year 1 and Year 2 classes also enjoyed taking part in drama workshops earlier this week. I think we have some budding actors in our midst!

Have a lovely weekend, enjoy the outdoors and have a good rest!

Take care, keep well and stay safe.

Jane

It has been so fantastic having all the children back in school and seeing all of the parents and families at the gates. The children were so excited as we welcomed them all in on Monday morning! The bunting was out and the smiles were radiant!

It now feels like we have never been away as the transition back to the school day and school routine, for the vast majority of the children, has gone really well. The children have been so excited to play with their friends again, and to share experiences with their classmates about their time away from school, as well as eager to start their collaborative learning again in class.

The children loved the 'Lockdown Learning' displays in class, so thank you for helping the teachers to select work to display, and they have really enjoyed getting back to the routine of learning new things and recapping on previous learning. Some of the things that I have seen on my daily walkabout school this week; Year 3 have been writing some great Information Booklets on the Romans, Y4 have been working hard on fractions in Maths; Y2 have written some great letters; Y5 have been enjoying their PE at the park; Y1 have been reading and doing work around the brilliant book, 'The Jolly Postman'; Y6 have been making models of meandering rivers; Reception have been working so hard on their phonics and reading; and the nursery children have been 'making magic bubbles'! So it's back to business as usual!

Next Friday, 19th March, is Comic Relief -Red Nose Day, and we are asking everyone to dress up as a 'Superhero'! Look out and/or get your costumes made this weekend! There will be a £1 donation on the gate please. Also, red noses are on sale from today until next Friday at each school gate. They are £1.50, and there are 10 noses to collect!

Thank you, as always to all the parents who generously continue to donate to the Millfields Food Bank. I know that some of you have involved the local community in collecting for us, so many many thanks. We are open every Thursday for any families in need. We need some of the following items please: toiletries including shower gel, toilet roll, fruit juice, squash, biscuits, tins of tuna, sardines & salmon. And anything else!

Finally, please have a good rest this weekend everyone, as I know that the children will be very tired at the end of this week as they complete a whole week back in school! Try to get outdoors for some fresh air and fingers crossed there is no rain!

'Happy Mother's Day' to all the mums out there -hope you have a rest too!

Take care, keep well and stay safe.

Jane