Happy New Year and welcome back to all our children and families.  The children have returned looking well-rested, much taller and with lots of stories about their holidays with family and friends.  We also welcomed Laurence officially to the Millfields teaching team, as he will be the substantive teacher in Ganges Class.  This means that we said a sad farewell to Orla at the end of last term - I know that we all wish her the very best for the  future!  We have also welcomed a few new children and their families to different classes across the school this week, but also said 'goodbye' to families who have moved out of London.  Good luck to them in their new schools!

It has been a busy first week back and we have loved our learning, especially today as it is 'Hispanic Day'. We really enjoyed seeing all the children and staff dressed up to celebrate all things Hispanic today.  Some great costumes and lots of colours from the flags of Spanish-speaking countries - thank you.  As part of this week's learning, children across the school have been learning about different artists including Miro, Picasso and Frida Kahlo and have produced some lovely artwork, and each year-group has also been researching a different Hispanic country and have learnt lots of new information and facts!  Some classes have also been learning a few Salsa moves during PE lessons.  Year 3 classes made their own pinata and had great fun trying to find out what was inside! Y2 also had a tasty guacamole treat this afternoon. Thanks also to the kitchen staff who created a Spanish-themed lunch for today. Thank you everyone for joining in and making this a fun first week!  All of the week's activities wouldn't have been possible without the enthusiasm and organisation from our Spanish teacher, Belen, so a huge 'thank you' Belen!

Reception Classes visited the Science Museum this week as part of their learning this term, and in the next few weeks there will be lots of WOW trips for each class.  This is a trip that adds context and interest to the class topic!  Please make sure that you have signed the 'All London Trips letter' ASAP and also made a contribution to WOW trips via Scopay. Many thanks for your support. There are some trips planned for next week, so please look out for details on Google Classroom.

I continue to be amazed by the generosity of the Millfields community - the Millfields Food Stall started again this week and was busy as ever, and more so with the continuing cost of living crisis.  The families using the Family Food Stall are so grateful and it makes such a difference in these tough times for us all.  Please drop any items to the main office on Wednesday, ready for the following day.  We always need eggs, tins of soup, pasta, rice, tuna, tinned fruit, veg and meat soup and biscuits, as well as loo roll, washing powder and shower gel.  Anything else is also gratefully received.  Thank you!

Please make sure that you and your child check's Google Classroom for information and home learning projects/homework.  The termly learning booklet for each class will be sent out via email and posted there early next week. Please also look out for dates for Y5 Kench Hill Parent Meetings, Reception Reading meeting for parents, Y4 Times Tables test parent meetings and Y1 Phonics Test Parent meetings coming up this half term. Reminder texts will also be sent!

Finally, a reminder about school starting times.  School starts at 8:40am for children in Nursery, Reception, Y1 & Y2, so you need to be at school for 8:35am so the children are in class and ready to learn at 8:40am.  For children in Y3, Y4, Y5 & Y6, school starts at 8:50am, so please be at school for 8:45am so they are in class at 8.50am.

Have a good weekend.  Stay warm and well. Take care. Jane

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. Very best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025.

I hope you had a good time over the holidays with family and friends.

Spring term 2025 starts on Monday 6th January. I look forward to seeting you all then.

Firstly, a huge well done to our girls football team this week for playing brilliantly in the group stages of the Borough 5-A-Side Tournament. They won all their matches and will be playing in the grand final in February 2025. Well done to Alina, Iris B, Iris J, Mia, Rose, Rosie, Safi and Tiana and big thanks to Izaac and Sharon for organising!

We are definitely in the Christmas spirit now! The children in Y1 and 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 each performance  See the details of days and times on the poster that was emailed out and in the Mag. We hope to see you then! All of our talented instrumentalists and the KS2 choir have also been practicing hard and are getting ready for the evening concert that is taking place on Thursday 12th December at 6.30pm at St James. This is always a lovely evening that gets us all in the mood for the holidays!

The Y1 - Y6 Concerts are taking place during the next week, and will be in St James Church on Lower Clapton Road.  The concerts are one year group only, and each class will sing 2 songs, and a couple of songs altogether, so they will be short and sweet! Please look at the information that has been sent out via email and  text to remind you of days and times, as well as information on Google Classroom about the clothes/colours that children need to wear for their concert.

Also, next week, we will also be having our Christmas lunch with party hats, and asked to wear sparkle and shine/party clothes on Friday 13th December. If you don't usually have school meals but would like your child to have one on Christmas Lunch day, please let your class teacher know.  A reminder that we have lots of non-uniform days in the next two weeks.  For the class concert, the teachers will ask your child to wear a specific colour/costume, and Friday 20th is Christmas Jumper day with donations of £1 on the gate for 'Save the Children'.  A reminder that school finishes at 1pm/1.15pm on the last day of term.  There are no after school clubs on the last day of term.

A huge 'thank you' and 'well done' to all of the parents from the PSA and the wider parent group who worked so hard to pull off an absolutely amazing Christmas Fair this afternoon! The playground was truly transformed into a magical Christmas wonderland with lovely food, drinks, games, craft stalls, karaoke and of course Santa's Grotto!  The atmosphere was so lovely and the event was enjoyed by everyone who came along!  A huge 'thank you' to all the committee and the many wonderful volunteers  -too many individuals to mention, who were in school from early morning setting up, and for those here clearing up at the end. Thank you to all of you who came along to support the school event. We will let you know how much we have made in the Mag next week!!  Also, well done to all the choir children for bringing some festive cheer to the whole event. Thanks to Tom and Roz for organising them!

If you are not going to be in school for any reason that is not an illness, please make sure that you have requested permission by emailing info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk and ask for a Leave Request Form. This can also be found on the school website under Attendance. All leave is not automatically granted, so please make sure you make a request in good time, and do not book any travel until it has been authorised.

Finally, we will be preparing the Christmas Food Hampers on Tuesday 17th December, ahead of distribution on the Wednesday.  If you have any more non-perishable festive and luxury foods - mince pies, fruit pies, tinned fish, tinned fruit, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, savoury snacks including crisps, custard or other desserts, we would be very grateful. Many thanks to all the parents who have contributed so far - it is very much appreciated.

Finally, have a good weekend - remember to wrap up warm.

Take care and stay well. Jane

We are so proud that this film: The Manifesto of Tomorrow: Democracy Week at Millfields was launched at the Ashoka event that took place here at Millfields on Tuesday 12th November. It wil be  shared with many other schools around the UK and the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0Xjisu_FPY

It has been another busy week, and seems to have flown by, with only 3 more weeks of term until the Christmas break.

On Wednesday, the whole school took part in the national 'No Pens Day'. It was a chance for children to put their pens down, talk, listen, and take part in lots of pen-free activities. No Pens Day is a nationwide fundraising event run by us at Speech and Language UK. It’s an amazing opportunity for pupils across the country to take part in activities that put the importance on talking, listening and interacting with classmates and teachers. The feedback from the children was very positive. They enjoyed a whole range of activities that didn't involve using a pen/pencil and encouraged the spoken word e.g memory and word games, movement games, mental maths, art and crafts and so much more to encourage and develop a wide vocabulary for all. Thank you to all of the children and staff who brought so many items in that made our whole school 'show and tell' a huge success!

Thank you to all the parents and carers from Annapurna and Ararat who came into school today to see the Sharing Assemblies. The children love sharing their learning and enjoy the performance too! Also today, thank you to all the parents who attended the workshop on 'Understanding Behaviours' with the school Clinical Psychologist, Phillipa.  I hope you found it useful -we will share the slides on the school website.

A huge 'WELL DONE' to the boys and girls football teams who both won their group matches this week, and have reached their respective finals! Both boys and girls had convincing victories, either 3-0. 4-0, 5-0! Great news -look forward to the finals in the new year!

As you will hopefully already know, the Christmas Fair is next Friday 6th December in the 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. We need donations of toys and tombola prizes. If you have not already bought raffle tickets, who, if your child is in Nursery to Y3, will have brought a book home with them today. Otherwise, please see one of the PSA committees who will be around all next week to buy a book. They will also be on sale at the actual Fair.  All of the activities, food, drink and stalls will be outside, so we hope to see lots of you there, enjoying the atmosphere and having some festive fun!

The children in Y1 and Y2 have all been excitedly learning their lines and practising the songs for the Nativity Performances that are planned for the week beginning 9th December.  There will be tickets for sale on the day - £1 donation for each performance  See the details of days and times on the poster that was emailed out and in the Mag. The Choir and Instrumental Concert is on Thursday 12th December from 6pm. This is always a lovely evening that gets us all in the mood for the holidays! We hope to see you at school -Y1 or St James Church -Y2. And the week beginning 16th December are the Winter Concerts for all classes, and also London Day -look out for details via email.

Another date for your diary is the Christmas Lunch day - Friday 13th December.  If your child usually has packed lunch and you would like the special lunch for your child that day, please let us know via email before the end of next week.

We are now collecting non-perishable goods for the Food Bank Christmas Hampers that will be given out on Wednesday 18th December.  We need more rice, lentils, pasta, pasta sauce, tins of soup, baked beans, tins of tuna or sardines, custard, UHT fruit juice, and other more festive items such as tinned fruit, drinks, cakes, crisps, 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.

Thanks to everyone for trying hard to park bikes and scooters in the right place, but please could I ask that children be particularly careful when they put their bikes in the bike store - we have recently had some haphazard “parking” which has resulted in a few bikes being scratched and damaged. We are also in the process of getting some flighhts to make it easier to find your bike at the end of the days that are so dark now. Thank you.

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 and keep well. Jane.

This film: The Manifesto of Tomorrow: Democracy Week at Millfields was launched at the Ashoka event that took place at Millfields a couple of weeks ago.

It will be shared across the Ashoka Network that is all over the world. (https://www.ashoka.org/en-gb/country/united-kingdom)

We are so proud of all the children for their passion and enthusaism.