It was lovely to see all the children and families at the start of the week, after the half term break, all looking so rested and well. I hope you all enjoyed the great weather and being outdoors. This week has absolutely flown by, probably helped by the lovely sunny weather, as well as the anticipation of all the great things that we are planning and organising for the classes, and especially Y6, before the end of term.

In Y5 this week, we have 6 amazing debaters who took part in the HTSA (Hackney Teaching & Schools Alliance) Annual Debating Competition. As this goes to press, the competition is still in full flow. The 6 children taking part had a training session on Monday morning, and then had time to prepare their speeches this morning . A huge 'well done' for all the enthusiasm and effort from the team - Jasmine, Shazedul, Victor, Sander, Malak and Sofia. The first debate motion was 'This House Believes that Every Child should have a Pet.' - well done to Millfields who won this quite convincingly. The second debate motion was 'This House Believes that Every Child should have to Join a Sports Club or Team.' which we also confidently won! The finals take place this afternoon, Millfields versus Rushmore, so I will keep you posted but I know that the children have been and will continue to be fantastic ambassadors for the school and try their very best! Thanks to Izaac for organising and working with the team.

We have been busy preparing for our annual Democracy Week that is scheduled to take place during the week beginning 28th June. This is always an exciting week in the Millfields calendar as we elect our Prime Minister for the following academic year. It has been a tough year for this year's PM, Zuhair, as we have been in lockdown and have had so many restrictions, but he will be talking about what he has achieved and handing the reins over to the new PM at the end of that week! The children will be learning about democracy, voting and thinking about school, local and global issues.

As we head towards the summer break, this is the time that Hackney starts any building works that may be scheduled. We have been on the council list for a while now and will be getting some much-needed roof work, facade work and wall repairs and pointing done during the summer break (and probably beyond as I can't imagine they will keep to schedule!). This unfortunately means that we will need to have scaffolding erected before the end of term, starting on 28th June. I made my objections and concerns very clear about this work happening while the children are still in school, and with the playground already being so small, but we are where we are! We will of course be completing a range of risk assessments and will do our very best to make sure that we can keep all the children and staff safe.

Finally, as the weather looks set to stay warm, please make sure that your child is wearing appropriate clothing to school to keep them cool, and ensure that they bring a hat for the long playtimes, and also sunscreen if they need it. The staff are unable to apply the sunscreen due to safeguarding protocols, so please apply in the morning, and send a small, named bottle with them. I will be sending out the ‘Sun Safety Policy’ this afternoon too. Many thanks for your continued support and understanding with all the Covid rules and restrictions and now with the added pressure of building works in the mix!

With that in mind, if the restrictions are not lifted on 21st June, which is looking more and more likely to be extended, we will unfortunately not be able to have parents at our Sports Days. I will keep you posted! Also, just a reminder that you are able to access Covid home-test kits from most pharmacies or by ordering online for home delivery. Staff at the school continue to test themselves twice a week.

Have a lovely weekend - it's meant to be a scorcher!

Take care, keep well and stay safe. Jane

We had a wonderful day! The weather was very kind and the mood of the whole community was a very happy one as everyone headed out to the local parks for Outdoor Day! There were so many lovely activities planned, and it was lovely to hear about them from all the children. Bond Class became explorers for the morning, Year 4 had a carousel of sporting activities including rounders and football. There were minibeast hunts, nature art, drawing and sketching, mapping and PE activities to name a few of them. Thank you to all the staff for making the last day of this very busy half term such a lovely experience for the children.

Congratulations and hige well done to the Y5 and Y6 Cycling Team who took part in the first outdoor event since lockdown!  All of the children rode so well, and Millfields ended up in position 1,2 and 3 in all the races except one! I am hoping this will give us enough points to stretch our lead at the top of the league table. As always, a massive 'thank you' to parents Paul, Alasdair and Andy for their continued support for the school cycling events.

So, we are now getting ready for the next half term, which is definitely going to be busy again as we have Democracy Week and Sports Fortnight, as well as all the usual learning experience and activities going on! Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to help during Sports Fortnight, so please let us know if there are any more of you who could help with sports activities or sessions around food and nutrition during the weeks beginning 5th -15th July.

This week, Year 6 have been working even harder than usual and completed lots of end of year assessments, and are now getting ready for all the fun activities that are always planned for the Year 6 children before they move on to secondary school. They have started casting for their end of year show, they are also preparing for the residential trip and looking forward to lots of transition activities.

Today we are saying goodbye to our 2 students who have been working in Y2 this term -thank you so much for becoming part of the team, Jamima and Nura, and the best of luck for the future.

Finally, I really hope that you all have a lovely break over half term. I hope that you are able to spend time with family and friends that you may not have seen for a while but please continue to act with some caution. Please remember to keep some distance, wear face masks when asked and wash your hands regularly, but most of all follow the national and/or local guidance to ensure that we are helping to minimise and prevent further spread of the virus.

Take care, keep well and stay safe everyone!

Jane

It has been a very rainy and windy week, but we have managed to get outside every day and enjoy that fresh air! Lots of classes have been learning outdoors ahead of next week's whole school 'Outdoor Day'. Year 4 classes have visited the park and Hackney Marshes as part of their Science investigations on living things; Lowry Class and Rosen Class have been to Forest School; Y5 and Y6 took part in PE lessons at Millfields Park. And Year 2 have been outside with their clipboards, doing surveys as part of their topic work. As part of their work on food, Reception classes made olive and carrot penguins -they were so cute, and looked too good to eat! Y3 Super Writers group showed me some amazing work on volcanoes, and Jacob from the ARP made a model of the whole alphabet out of lego!

Also this week, children in Y2, Y3 and Y6 took part in an online science workshop led by Benjamin Franklin House. The children really engaged with the sessions and followed up in class with experiments to support their learning. Year 5 children who are in the Forever Curious project also took part in their second creative workshop -this is a project that will culminate in an art exhibition showing what they think future London will be like. Thanks to Theo for organising the cross-class group.

Just a reminder that next week is the last week before the half term break. The children will break up at 2pm/2.15pn on Friday 28th may and return to school at the usual times on Monday 7th June -it does seem really late this year! Also, the whole school, Nursery, Reception Y1-5 will be going to a local park for Outdoor Day next Friday -fingers crossed for better, warmer weather!

We are currently planning and preparing for our 'Sports and healthy living Fortnight',  that will take place over the last 2 weeks of the next half term. We are looking for any parents/carers who may have a background or work in food and nutrition to help with workshops on healthy eating. Please email info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk if you think you can help. If you have been at Millfields for a few years, you will know that we have great fun during Sports Week, and due to the lockdowns and some inactivity for lots of children during this time, we want to really champion exercise, sports and healthy, balanced eating this year in particular. Look out for more news after half term.

We are also hoping that there will be some kind of community event like a Summer Fair, although we are being cautious as to what it might look like. I am currently talking with members of the PSA and hoping that we can organise at least something that will be aclerbatory event to say thank you to all of you -the children, parents and families and staff for working together so well over the last 15 months! The Year 6 children will be starting to audition and prepare for an end of year show, and they will also be having an end of year celebration, so I am really keeping my fingers crossed that this can actually happen. With this in mind, please, despite what the government might be advocating, keep your distance, wear facemasks and keep yourself and others safe -it's not over yet!

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

Jane

Firstly, thank you to the 3 candidates who stood for the Parent Governor vacancy, and thank you to all the parents who voted. Congratulations to Shermain Philip who has been duly elected.

I hope all our Muslim families enjoyed Eid celebrations yesterday, to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. I know that this is the second year that Eid has been affected by the pandemic, but I hope you managed to enjoy the day within the current restrictions. We are marking the special day in classes today with a small party and celebration at the end of the day. The children in school yesterday made lots of decorations and the Nursery children dressed up and had a lovely time.

This week around school, the children have been doing lots of brilliant work. The Nursery children have been reading and acting out the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff, Cooke Class visited the school roof terrace, Year 1 have been writing newspaper reports about the Great Fire of London, Year 2 dressed up as pirates as part of their reading this week, and were also drawing plans and maps from a bird's eye view, Year 3 children have been writing stories about the life of a pebble, Y4 have really enjoyed reading in pairs this week, and Jones Class enjoyed a virtual visit from a Horrible Histories Y5 have been working on lots of tricky Maths problems, and Y6 have been working hard in Spanish lessons with Belen -I was very impressed with how much they understand!

As it has been Mental Health Week this week, we have been talking to the children in class, in the playground and around the school about expressing their feelings, and talking to a friend or adult if they are upset or feel worried or anxious about anything. Thanks to all the parents who attended a session about talking to their children about feelings. Please talk to your child at home and encourage them to speak freely and make sure that they are not afraid to say if they need help in any way, however small.

I hope you have read the Parents Newsletter that was sent out at the end of last week, and also please talk to your child about the Pupil Well-being Letter that was shared in class. If your child is in Y3-Y6, they will also have been given information about an APP called Ollee, that is a virtual friend that your child can engage with. Please encourage and help them log on and register.

Finally, we are continuing to follow the Risk Assessment that was put in place at the beginning of March when the children retro the school building. We will be following all the current systems and policies until the end of the academic year and will continue to follow DfE guidance on any lifting of restrictions, that currently,as of May 10th, haven't changed, but we will continue to watch the current situation closely.

Please remember to stay safe -wear face masks, keep your distance and wash your hands regularly.

Take care, and have a good weekend.

Jane

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!