It was a wonderful sight this morning to see all the Nursery and Reception class children dressed in their Christmas clothes, tinsel and sparkle and party hats, excited and ready for their Winter Concert this morning. Thank you so much to all the parents, grandparents and families who came to support and cheer on the children, and thank you to all the staff and especially Bruno who accompanied on the guitar, but the BIGGEST thank you and well done to all the children -they were amazing! Three concerts in one morning is quite something, and despite some tears and some children not feeling their best, they were brilliant!

Last Thursday was the second Headeacher's Hot Chocolate afternoon for children who have gone above and beyond on their learning, behavior and attitude to school. We had a lovely afternoon chat with hot chocolate and biscuits! Well done to all the children who attended this time -there were 16 of you!!

Yesterday, Y6 visited the Natural History Museum as part of their Science work. The children enjoyed the trip and have brought lots of information back to enhance their in class learning.

Also this week, all of the Y4, Y5 and Y6 cyclists had a chance to try out the Roller Bikes ahead of their inter-Hackney race next week. They had great fun and clocked some fast times! The Y4 classes also had a chance to try them out and really loved the experience.

As you will hopefully already know, the Christmas Fair is next Friday 9th December afternoon and starts at 2:30pm until 5:30pm. The PSA have all been busy for the last few weeks and still need lots of help for the actual event, getting ready for, during and after. All of the activities and stalls will be outside, so we hope to see lots of you there, enjoying the festivities and having some festive fun!

Also next Friday 9th December is London Day - a Millfields termly tradition that sees all the children from every class in the school going out and about visiting lots of museums and galleries across London. The idea of this day is to emphasize the fact that we live in this amazing city and that there are so many brilliant places to visit, so hopefully it will prompt families to visit all the places as well.

Another date for your diary is the Christmas Lunch day - Wednesday 14th December. If your child usually has packed lunch and you would like to order lunch for your child that day, please look out for information coming out via email.

We are now collecting non-perishable goods for the Food Bank Christmas Hampers that will be given out on Thursday 15th December.  We need more rice, pasta, tins of soup, tins of tuna, loo roll, custard, UHT fruit juice, other drinks, cakes, sweets, biscuits and mince pies.  Thank you to all of you who have already contributed and continue to contribute on a weekly basis. The families in receipt of the food are extremely thankful.

The children in Y2 have all been excitedly learning their lines and practising the songs for the Nativity Performances that are planned for next week. There will be tickets for sale on the day - £1 donation for the performance at 10.15am. See the details of days and times on the poster that was emailed out and in the Mag.

Finally, Winter seems to be here as the temperature has dropped, and it is feeling chilly outside, so please make sure that your child is wrapped up warm, and that all coats, scarves, gloves and hats have names on them! It really helps when we try to match lost property to the right owner!

Have a good weekend, take care, keep well and stay safe.

Jane

What another busy week it has been at Millfields!  There has been lots happening as usual, including the beginning of all those Christmas song favourites and 'No Pens Day'!

We mark 'No Pens Day' every year as it is a significant reminder about the importance of speech and language in our everyday lives.  'No Pens Day' Wednesday is an annual day of spoken language activities that takes place in lots of schools.  During the day, all learning activities were planned to encourage spoken language skills that are fundamental for learning to read and write, managing emotions and developing friendships.  By putting down our pens (and pencils) for the day, teachers planned and designed learning activities that helped to develop pupils’ spoken language skills. There were lots of Maths games, art and DT work, including sewing, debating, drama, and PE lessons taking place across the school. The Pen Police were checking in each class and all offices to make sure that we were all keeping to the rules!

Berners-Lee Class and Macintosh Classes visited Bruce Castle this week as part of their work on World War 2. The children took part in a workshop to relive experiences of life in the Uk during WW2 and also handled lots of artefacts. The children really enjoyed the experience as they have already learnt so much in class and were able to extend their learning and knowledge.

On Tuesday, a group of boys and girls represented us in the Young Hackney football tournament -they won all 3 games and moved on to the next stage! Well done, and thanks to Sharon and Devon. Then, on Wednesday, Y6 took part in the annual TfL Junior School Citizenship Scheme that is run for all Y6 children in Hackney. Over the day, they took part in small-group workshops that taught valuable life-skills to make the children more aware of what they can do to help themselves, and others, make responsible decisions for a healthier, safer lifestyle. This is aimed at Y6 as they become increasingly independent over the year, both in and out of school, and especially as they get ready for secondary school.

Also this week, SLT have been in class observing teaching and learning, talking to children about their learning and teacher about the impact their planning and scaffolding had on children's learning. One thing shines through, all the children at Millfields 'Love to Learn' (This is one of our core values!). The children were able to tell us what they learnt during the lesson, in previous lessons, and in lessons last year. There are a few more observations next week, as well as end of term assessments in classes from Y1 to Y6.

Our first festive events take place next week, with EYFS concerts on Friday 2nd December, and then Y2 nativity performances are on 6th, 7th and 8th December, and the Christmas Fair is taking place the following week on Friday 9th December. Please see the poster in the Mag for details of the timings of the Fair and check your emails/texts for concert times and details.

Finally, as you will all be aware, hopefully, your child is learning their class Christmas song for our concerts. Reminder texts will be sent out as reminders before all concerts. Looking forward to seeing you all then. Please encourage your child to learn the words and actions so that they are ready for their performance.

Wrap up warm this weekend, and have a good one!

Take care, stay well and keep safe.

Jane

What a wonderful sight this morning seeing all of the children and adults wearing their pyjamas to school!! Thank you everyone for such a brilliant effort – we have raised more than £540! We have such a wonderful school community who are always so generous and continue to contribute to all the fundraising that we take part in.

It has been a very busy week at Millfields as the teachers met lots of parents/carers as part of the online Parents' Meetings. Thank you for your time and we hope that you found them helpful, even if only to speak briefly about how your child has settled into school this year, and how they are progressing. We know that 10 minutes is never enough time, but hope that you are kept informed of the learning taking place via Google Classroom, the Millfields Mag and other school communications. We are planning that the next Parents Evening will be face to face. The teachers are also happy to chat on the phone or via email if you have any other  specific questions or issues. The staff list of email addresses is on the school website.

It has been Anti-bullying Week, as well as Inter-Faith Week, and there have been lots of discussions and work in classes around what it means to 'be yourself', be proud of who you are, about being bullied, not being mean to others, being an Upstander and being kind. The week included extended assemblies and workshops, and started with us all wearing odd socks on Monday, celebrating the fact that we are all different and that is a good thing! We have really encouraged the children to talk to an adult about anything that is worrying them, and especially if there is something that is making them feel uncomfortable or sad, or if they believe that they are being bullied. Please talk to your child at home, and get in touch if they and you have any worries, especially around any online worries! The children know that they can talk to any adult at school, and that we will make sure their voice is heard.

Also this week, Y5 and Y6 children took part and represented Millfields in the Hackney Borough round of the Moogsoft William Greaves Trophy, Primary School Indoor Cricket Tournament. They played 23 matches and won all 3 and through to the next round!! Well done to Murray, Hattie, Nhyira, Daniyaal, Tiernan, Jacob, Summayah, Vincent, Ben and Eri.

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who came to watch Dunlop and Tarrant Class Sharing Assemblies today. It was so lovely to see you all, and I know that the children really loved sharing their learning and work . We hope that you enjoyed the small snapshot of what happens in class. If you would like more information about the learning and progress in each year group and year on year, please check the school website http://www.millfields.hackney.sch.uk/index.php?page=subject-areas.

Another big 'thank you' to all the parents who have donated money for food items to the weekly Food Bank. We will be making up Christmas Boxes for all our families who use the Food Bank, so please drop any donations of more festive goodies to the school from the beginning of December. E.g. Christmas Cake, selection boxes, boxes of biscuits, tubs of sweets etc

Have a good weekend everyone.

Take care, keep well, and stay safe! Jane

It has been another busy week at Millfieldsand there has been lots of exciting learning taking place, as well as sporting competitions and PSA activity.

Last night was the 'Silent' Disco, and it was so much fun for the children and adults! Not sure it was silent, as there was lots of singing out loud and dancing! Thank you so much to all the PSA team who organised and ran the whole event -it was another huge success!

Another special 'thank you' to Dougal, Tova's Dad (Macintosh Class) who organised a firework display last Saturday night at Millfields Park for the children in the class, that turned into a much bigger community event that raised lots of money which he has kindly donated to the PSA -amazing!

This week in assemblies we talked about 'Remembrance Day' that was today Friday 11th November. Although Remembrance Day celebrates the end of World War 1, we talked about how we remember those who have died in the many wars and conflicts around the world, in order to keep us all safe, and that it is a day to show thanks, appreciation and support for those who have given their lives. We held a minute's silence at 11am today which was observed impeccably by all the children.

Our sports teams have been in action again today with the girls football team reaching the quarter finals of the inter-schools tournament on Wednesday which was a great achievement as they haven't had that long to practice together as a team. Well done! thanks to Sharon and Devon. Well done also to our Y5 and y6 cyclists who took part in the Cyclocross event at Hackney Downs today. The team did really well, and have brought home more medals and points for the league table. Thank you to Nishie, and to parents, Kirsty and Marika for helping today!

Well done also to Newton Class for their very informative assembly this morning. It was good to see so many parents there and hope you enjoyed it.

I hope that you have already booked your slot for Parents Evening next week -they take place on Tuesday 15th Nov 4pm-6pm and on Wednesday 15th Nov from 4pm-7pm. These appointments will be online and you need to use your Scopay account to book in, if you have not already done so.

Next week is Anti-bullying Week, and although we are always doing work with individuals, classes and year groups on well-being and bullying, we will be doing lots of work in our lessons focussing on anti-bullying and not being a bystander. No school can honestly say that there is no bullying in school, so more importantly it is vital that the children know who to talk to if they are being bullied and also know that they should try to support others that they see/hear being bullied, and report any bullying. To start off the week, we will all be wearing 'odd socks' to encourage people to express themselves and celebrate their individuality and what makes us all unique! Look out those bright and beautiful socks to wear on Monday!

Finally, from Monday, we have sadly taken the decision to ban all trading cards from school, that includes Pokemon cards and Match Attax. We feel that the cards are causing lots of arguments and disagreements in the playground and cards going 'missing' etc etc. Please make sure that you remind your child that they should bring them to school as they will be confiscated.

Dates for the Christmas Concerts and Nativity will be sent out via email in the next week, and with the Mag over the following few weeks. Reminders will be sent every week, as we would love to see you all!

Have a good weekend -enjoy the unseasonably mild weather. Take care, keep well and stay safe. Jane

Firstly, I hope that you all had a lovely halfterm, and enjoyed seeing family and friends. Welcome back to everyone, and to another busy half term!We had a wonderful time last night at the'Taste of Millfields' and unveiling of the'Belonging' mural event that took place in the playground with so many of you and lots of special visitors. The choir sang brilliantly, there was lots of lovely food and drink, informative displays, great steel pan music, and of course, looking at the mural, that all made the atmosphere very special. Thank you to everyone who came along and to those who brought food or drink.

Special thanks to all our VIP guests who were so happyand honoured to have been invited to come along to seewhat we have been learning about them! Thank you toDalton Grant, Olympic High Jump Gold medallist, NanaBadu, CEO and founder of Badu Sports and Dr Ronx -Emergency Medicine Doctor and TV presenter, for inspir-ing our children, through your visits as part of our Black History Month work. Also a huge 'thank you' to DeputyMayor, Antoinette Bramble who unveiled our wonderful community belonging mural. Thank you also to Council-lor Rathbone and Councillor Gordon for coming along to support us.

The mural unveiling was quite an emotional moment for us all, as it is such a special piece of artwork that celebrates, honours and reflects our children and families, our staff and the wider community. Each of the different pieces and parts of the mural is special to one of usand all of us! We are really looking forward to it taking its final position on the exterior school wall in the near future! Another 'thank you' to Marika for the original inspiration andto Vicky for making this project happen during Families Week.

Also this week, I met our latest addition to the Empathy Animals who will be visiting Mill-fields. We currently have Bobby and Peppi visiting us weekly, and they will soon be joined by Nigel. The dogs and their humans meet on a 1:1 basis with identified children, based on a range of needs. If you would like more information, look on their website here:https://www.empathyanimals.org/

We have also noticed this week that the afternoons/evenings are getting much darker withthe clocks going back last weekend. Please make sure that if your child walks or cycles home alone, that they wear something that makes them visible, even a reflective strip on their jacket will ensure that they can be seen.

With this in mind, another plea for names on clothes, especially jumpers and coats! We do try our best to return named items to their owner, but can't do this without your help! Also as the days get colder, I am aware that hats, scarves and gloves will be in school too. Again, please put names on all these items!

Lastly, thank you to all the families who have returned Christmas card templates - there were some amazing designs and artwork. The deadline for submitting these has now passed.

Have a good weekend, and remember to stay safe if you are visiting a Firework Display this weekend, or are having fireworks in your own gardens. Take care, Jane

We are finally at the end of what seems to have been a very long, busy and productive first half term! There has been so much happening every week, and there has been so much joy and love for learning in and out of the classroom. I hope that the Millfields Mag has given you a good flavour of what has been going on in the classes and beyond! Thank you to the whole school community - children, staff and parents, for being so patient, understanding and supportive as we have embraced being back to the old Millfields ways (after the Covid years!).

Today, there has been a lovely atmosphere around the school as the children and staff mark the end of Black History Month in school, by wearing red for 'Show Racism the Red Card'. The whole month of activities has been a brilliant learning experience for the children with workshops, reading texts, museum visits and so much more! The research about our famous Hackney/local people has been a huge success. The children have loved finding out about their assigned person, and have shared their findings in class. Nana Badu visited Y6 classes on Monday to talk about his journey to becoming CEO of Badu Sports, Dr Ronx sent a video for the children, Y3 have been rapping, and Reception classes have had a carnival party today, and Whiteread Class made some food from Andi Oliver's cookbook, and lots, lots more! A huge 'thank you' to Emma, and Kamilah for all their hard work in planning and organising everything and everyone!

We are having a celebration evening on Thursday 3rd November from 4.30pm -6.30pm. This will be a  sharing event to celebrate BHM and belonging, and will also be the official unveiling of the 'Belonging Mural'. This will be an outdoor event for the whole school community, when we will ask you to bring a dish to share. There will be further information via email later today.

Today, we also said goodbye to our Y5 teacher, Fiona who has now gone on maternity leave. Good luck with the baby when they come! And welcome back, Jo Dyer, to the Millfields team, who will be sharing the teaching responsibility with Sheyenne Watson in Y5 Faraday Class. Also, congratulations to both Mahalia and Claire who had their babies, Atia and Olllie, a few weeks ago!

Our talented athletes and sports teams have also been in action. The cyclists did really well in the first Hackney Cycling League event of the year -the Springfield Climb and have started strongly in the pursuit of another successful year! Thank you to Nishie and parents who supported this event. The boy's football team played on Wednesday and did well and both just missed a place in the next round. Thanks to Sharon and Devon for organising. Also, 20, Y5 children have been taking part in ‘Bikeability’ lessons this week! They all passed –well done! Thanks to Theo and Dudley!

Thanks to the PSA for organising the ‘Spooky Disco’ last night –another big success and fundraiser!

Finally, ’Happy Diwlali’ to all our families celebrating this weekend. And, a reminder that the children come back to school on Tuesday 1st November.

Enjoy the half term with family and friends. Take care,keep well and stay safe everyone! Jane