What an amazing week we have had! It has been a hard fought contest, but one that has been conducted with empathy, humility and compassion. The 5 Prime Minister candidates and their Deputies have been brilliant but there can be only one winner! (Unlike last year!) The results are in...

BIG CONGRATULATIONS, to our new Prime Minister, Anayah from the 'Blazing Blues' and her Deputy, Cosimo. In her acceptance speech, Anayah said that she was delighted to have won, and thanked all the other candidates. A massive 'Well Done' to all the party leaders and deputies -Anayah and Cosimo, Par-ker and Salma, Jude and Abu Bakr, Violet and Joely, and Luan and Oona. They were all so impressive and articulate, and really worked hard all week on their detailed and thoughtful manifestos, their considered press conference responses and their fantastic rousing speeches delivered at the hustings.

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 and projects to consider ranging from more meal options, more chill out spacesto help our well-being, educating children on keeping the toilets clean with toilet monitors, a litter-picking team and more bins, a greenhouse to grow our own vegetables, and chickens on the roof terrace and so much more! Thank you to the party advisors - Adele, Ashraf, Nino, Sheyenne 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, making some changes and introducing new initiatives. All of the manifestos and the daily newspapers can be read on the website.

I would also like to say a huge 'thank you' to John and Safi, and Tessa, our out-going PMs and Deputy, who have been true ambassadors for our school and community! I know that you have been busy reading the daily newspaper 'Daily Demo-Crazy' and hope that it gives you a flavour of what has been happening this week. The Y6 Press Team - journalists and vloggers/bloggers have been very busy, writing articles, sharing views and showing the results of questionnaires, conducting interviews and finding other interesting stories for us all to enjoy. Huge 'thank you' to all the children and to Debi who organised and coordinated the newspapers.

It has been a brilliant 'Democracy Week' as always, my favourite week of the year! 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! This was reiterated by our SIP (School Improvement Partner) from Hackney Education who was in school yesterday and joined us on the march and was impressed by the hustings speeches.

All of the children from across the school have been so involved in all of the activities and events this week. They have been learn-ing 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 aroundthe 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 announcement this morning. 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 Week' and I am hoping that all of the children will really enjoy all the activities that are planned. Please note that children can wear PE/sports clothes and sports shoes/trainersevery day during next week, and into the following week if they have sports activities. 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, as always on some of the days, so please keep checking texts/emails to note any potential changes!

Then on Thursday 17th July, it is London Day, when all the classes will be visiting a famous London park! Packed lunches will be provided by the school kitchen but feel free to bring your own if you want. We are keen to have at least one parent volunteer for each class, so please let your child's class teacher know ASAP if you can help out.

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 12th JULY from 11am - 3pm. The PSA is looking for dona-tions, so from Monday 7th July we will be accepting donations of toys, games and books. (NO preschool/ baby toys and books, these will not be accepted). Please drop off at Reception any morning next week. We also need cakes for the cake stall! Please drop off (homemade or shop bought) the day before on Friday 11th or the morning of the Fair - Saturday 12th July. Please save the date and hope to see lots of you there!

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

I cannot believe that we are getting closer and closer to the end of this academic year already -only 3 weeks to go, and there is still so much to do and so many events to organise and take part in!

This week has been Assessment Week, so all the children in Y1 -Y6 have been 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 at the end of  penultimate week of term - there will be a text to alert you when they have been sent.

On Wednesday, the KS2 Choir took art in the Hackney Singing Festival at the Round Chapel. It is always a lovely event and the children involved , and the parents in the audience enjoyed the whole event -hundreds of Hackney school children singing together in unison! What's not to like! Thanks to Bruno for preparing the children and supporting them!

We have also been busy preparing for our annual Democracy Week that is scheduled to take place during the week beginning 30th June.  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 PMs, John and Safi, and their deputies, Tessa, A'Rayah and AJ, along with members of the school cabinet have done a great job this year and have been proactive and industrious and very persistent.  There is always a brilliant daily Pupil Newsletter that week, as well as information on the candidates, campaigns etc in the playground. so look out for that and keep up to date with all the action. To get a flavour of the week to come, please see the film we made last year on this link. The Manifesto of Tomorrow: Democracy Week at Millfields

Then the following week is Sports Week, and there has, again, been lots and lots of planning 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 not already 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.

Thank you to parents, Emily and Jacob, for organising a brilliant Plant Sale after school today. They had so many interesting and beautiful plants to sell, and raised a fantastic £235 for the school! Thank you so much to everyone who bought a plant too!

Finally, all of the children in Reception to Y5, will be finding out who their new teacher is on our Transition Day -Friday 11th July. Families will be informed later that day in the Millfields Mag.Year 6 children will be taking part in a range of transition activites that day, before the end of Y6 Disco!

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday 12th 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

We have had another very busy week at Millfields this week! It is 'Bike Week' and the children and adults have certainly all been cycling to the point that there was very little room left in the bike shed! Thank you for encouraging your children to cycle and scoot. Thank you also to the 50 plus children and adults who took part in the 'Big Ride Out' on Wednesday morning before school started. This takes place every Wednesday -meet at the school at 8.20am or join along the route. All are welcome!

First thing this morning, we enjoyed 3 lovely assemblies from Nile Class, Mersey Class and Karisimbi Class -the children take such pride in sharing their learning, they all look great in their costumes, and they all learnt lots of lines of songs, poems and scripts to entertain parents and families. Thank you for coming along, and thank you to the children and staff!

Today it was our termly Outdoor Day (morning!) and we took full advantage of the beautiful weather. We all walked down to Hackney Marshes, and played lots of team games with sports equipment, parachutes, and biscuits, did scavenger hunts, bug hunts, created nature art,  as well as climbed trees, ran around and sat in the shade for a drink and snack! The children and staff loved it!

Yesterday, Y4, Y5 and Y6 children had a great afternoon in the company of TikTok sensation and science author 'Big Manny'. Emmanuel (his given name) spoke to the children about his journey through primary and secondary school, and university where he got both a bachelor and master degree; then about his first job as a science lab technician and about how he decided to get into making online science experiment videos during lockdown, and shared his current success with his science books! Big Manny shared a few experiments that the children loved, and of course he did set off the fire alarm too! if you want to see more, look at the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVYMXCTGCq8. Thanks to Sheyenne for organising!

Also this week, Y4 classes visited Bruce Castle Museum to take part in Windrush workshops to enhance their topic work, and Y1 visited Monument as part of their classwork on the Great Fire of London.

We have also been very busy on the sporting front this week. yesterday, some new and more experienced cyclists in Y4, Y5 and Y6 took part in the penultimate Hackney Cycling League event at Hackney Downs. They did so well, and really enjoyed the experience. We are still just about top of the league and need lots of points in the last race in July to retain the trophy!Thanks to Nishie and to Beatrice's mum, Mary for helping out.

On Wednesday, a talented group of Y5 and Y6 children -boys and girls took part in the cross Hackney Kwik-Cricket tournament, and I am delighted to say we won, and received a cup and medals that will be presented next week! Thanks to Izaac for organising and taking them.

Finally, have a lovely weekend, and let's hope the good weather continues.Take care and stay well. Best Wishes, Jane

I cannot believe that we are at the end of half term already!  It seems to have flown by, and it has been so busy!

Today, we were treated to 3 brilliant assemblies - well done to Fitzroy, Shenandoah and Douro Classes for sharing their fantastic learning, as well as showing off their great singing and acting skills! Thank you to all the children and staff!

A massive ‘thank you’ to all the parents, carers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and pets who have taken part in our brilliant ‘Parents & Families Week’. The atmosphere around the school has been great and the feedback from parents has been very positive. There were lots of fun activities organised including, a DT workshop with Bruno, Art workshops with dean and Jess, Graphic Computing workshop with Claire, Gardening with me, PE sessions  with PE coaches Kea and Tom, maths workshop with Emma, Cook School workshops in Y5 and Y6, a Road safety session, Emotion Coaching led by the REU from Hackney, a drama workshop with parent Chris, and a WAMHS workshop on play and connection. And yesterday we had a really lovely afternoon tea with children and their grandparents -we think it is really important to recognise the many grandparents who play such a big part in the children's lives, so I hope you enjoyed it!

Parents also volunteered to share/read a story with their child's class at the beginning and end of the school day. We will continue to ask for volunteers to read to your child's class throughout the year, so please contact your child's teacher if you would like to read at the end of the school day. On the back of this week, we are also going to run a monthly gardening afternoon as the parents and children who helped to tidy and replant on the roof terrace were amazing -thank you for your enthusiasm and hard work!

The children and staff have also really enjoyed meeting some of their friends’ pets too!  We have had dogs, rabbits, tortoises, guinea pigs, cats and fish!  It was also great to see so many of you at the first Annual Family Picnic that took place at Millfields Park on Wednesday. We managed to avoid the rain and the children, staff and parents had great fun playing games and chatting!  Thanks for making that happen!! Finally, a huge 'thank you' to Sheyenne for organising the whole week! We also loved seeing lots of parents at our age-phase 'Croissants & Conversations' drop-in session each morning. There was lots of chat and opportunities to meet new people. If you would like to see more morning drop-ins, please let us know as this could be an opportunity to ask lots of questions and find out more about the curriculum and the working of the school day.

Well done to the Shannon Class Quiz Team who won the trophy last night at the PSA Quiz! It was a lovely event -thank you to all the PSA who organised and for the parents and staff who attended! Thank you also to all the Book Fair volunteers, especially Sarah Worsley, and to all of you for buying lots of books over the last week! We hope to have made lots of commission to stock up on our book corners in cklass -the children on the School Council have requested more books about sport!

We have lots of other exciting events coming up next half term too; it is Democracy Week (30th June -4th July), and Sports Fortnight (7th -18th July), and the Summer Fair is taking place on Saturday 12th July this year - save the date!  Please get in touch with the PSA if you can help in any way at psamillfields@gmail.com.  Also, a reminder that Friday 20th June is an INSET day, so the school will be closed to pupils.

I hope you have a great half term with family and friends, and have fun and a good rest.

Fingers crossed for continued good weather!  See you all on Monday  2nd June.

Best Wishes, Jane

We have had a lovely few days during this short week with lots of hard work, learning and fun, and all much easier  because of the lovely sunny and dry weather!

Yesterday, we all took part in assemblies about VE Day -80 Year anniversary. I learnt so much about all of your families and all the family members who were involved in the war with lots of different countries. The children were so engaged and we all observed a 2 minute silence to show our respect for those who lost their lives, and of course to share the celebration that took place 80 years ago at the end of the war in Europe.

As we are now approaching the time of year when the weather is warmer and the sun is shining, please make sure that your child is wearing appropriate clothing and shoes, and that they wear a hat/cap if needed and have sun- screen on in the morning. If you would like your child to put sunscreen on at school, please send a labelled bottle with them each day. I will be emailing out the school Sun Safety Policy for you to read as well, so look out for it in your emails.

The Y6 children have worked very hard all year but especially in the last few weeks, doing practice SATS papers, as they have the real tests next week. We always invite all of Year 6 to come to the Breakfast Club free of charge every morning during the SATS week. We have found in the past that starting the day together with a good breakfast really helps to settle the children ready for their exams. So even if they normally have a great breakfast at home we would encourage you to send your children into the school Breakfast Club during that week so they can start their day with their friends -please send your Y6 child in from 7:45am onwards.

I am extremely proud of the hard work and effort made by all the Y6 children this year - working so hard at school and home! I always reassure the children, by saying that we expect them to do their best, and as long as they have tried hard and know they have done their very best, then we will be proud of them no matter what the result. Please reinforce this with your child at home.

A massive 'well done' to all the Y4 an d Y5 cyclists who took part in the latest Hackney Cycling league event yesterday on Hackney Downs. The children did so well completing 4 events each. Thanks to Nishie and to parents who came to support during the races! Well done to Ezra, William, Dexter, Robin, Margot, Artemis, Vincent, Otto, Gabriel, Joely, Noav and Tova B!We are waiting to find out the final results but I think we have quite a few first place finishes!

Today we were treated to 2 brilliant Class Sharing Assemblies! Thank you to Ganges class and Mekong Class who shared all their learning from this term and some from last term! The costumes and enthusiasm were second to none! The staff and children worked really hard, so thank you to them and for all the many parents who came to watch and support their child.

One of our favourite weeks at Millfields is coming up - it is Parents & Families Week! The week before half term, the week 19th-23rd May, we will be having our usual week of fun, inviting parents and carers to take part in lots of activities, coffee mornings, class and workshop visits etc, including the ever-popular 'bring your pet' to school, and this year our first Big 'Community Picnic' on Wednesday 21st! Look out for more details on all activities via email. You will need to sign up via Google Form. We are looking forward to welcoming you (and your pets) into school!

Thank you to Y1 and Y2 parents who came in today to read with their child/child's class -this happens every Friday, so please come along next time!

Also a reminder that we are looking for a parent who could give up some time to help with the memorial wall for Steve -if you can help, please email me directly, and we are also looking for any sporty parents who could offer a session/s of any sport or activity as part of Sports Fortnight (7th -17th July) or, if you think you can help in any other way, please email Ashrafamohi@millfields.hackney.sch.uk

Finally, have a lovely weekend in the sun. Take care, Jane