Languagenut is a great online resource for learning Spanish. The website is here.
Welcome to Millfields Community School
 |
Latest News
Summer Singing Concert 2020
The last online Music event this year was the Zoom Singing Concert and though numbers were few they were all fantastic performances and much enjoyed by the staff and parents who watched! For an alternative view of the performers, please click here! Well done everyone and also please enjoy the last song video from The Music Team and many other Hackney Schools!
Stay safe, keep smiling and see you all in September!
Roz
Message from Headteacher
Well it’s the end of another busy week, and I can’t believe there is only one more week of the summer term to go!
We said goodbye, until September to the Reception and Year 1 children who have been in school, and a very tearful goodbye to our Year 6 classes who have had an eventful couple of weeks and are now moving on to various secondary schools in September. They have completed lots of transition activities that have hopefully started to prepare them for the next stage in their school journey. As well as the usual transition worries and anxieties that have been addressed, we have also talked a lot about the lockdown period that has also raised lots of questions. The children had lots of opportunities to work together and to work through potential secondary school scenarios.
They also enjoyed a lovely day out at the newly launched ‘Hackney School of Food’ based at Mandeville School. They had a brilliant day in the herb garden, picking ingredients to use in their own lunch which was fresh pizza and garden salad. They also helped make an open fire and enjoyed time outdoors! They took their delicious food home with them to share with their families. We will have one last opportunity to say goodbye next Friday when Y6 children will meet together to pick up their Yearbooks and memory hoodies. More details to follow. I will save my final words for the Y6 children and their families until then!
Next week is Transition week at Millfields and you should have already received an email explaining which day and time your child can visit school to say goodbye to their old teacher and meet their new teacher for next year. Please make sure you stick to the time allocated as we want to minimise contact and numbers of children and adults in school. If your child cannot make this event, please email info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk to let us know.
I know that lots of parents have asked about bringing cards and gifts in to school for staff next week..........although we really don’t expect anything, if you would like to bring things, we will be collecting them in boxes at the gate.
If you are eligible for free school meals, you should have received an email explaining how to claim food vouchers for the summer break -please contact the school office if you haven’t seen this email yet.
Finally, another huge thank you for all your support raiding money for the School Council chosen charities. The total amount raised was £1800. Well done everyone!
Have a lovely weekend -I am hoping the weather has changed for the next few weeks so we can all enjoy the summer break.
Take care, keep well and stay safe.
Jane
Message from Headteacher
This week, we seem to have been very busy in school as we had lots of Key Worker children, Reception and Year 1 children, and we also welcomed Y6 pupils back for some transition work before they move on to secondary school in September. It has been lovely to see so many of them back and I have enjoyed hearing their stories of lockdown! They have done lots of work this week about how they are feeling........about the lockdown, not coming to school, and of course their worries about moving on to a new secondary school. They have been taking part in discussions and workshops with the Hackney Re-engagement Unit, as well as with our School Councillor Claire-Louise, and they have been able to express their feelings -fears and worries for secondary school and their sadness at leaving Millfields in such an unusual manner. We hope that some of the activities we have planned for next week will make sure that we all say a proper goodbye and celebrate their time at Millfields together. Thanks to the team who have been working with the Y6 children this week.
Also this week, we have been busy organising the classes and the transition events for all the children to say goodbye to their old teacher and have the opportunity to meet their new teacher in the last week of term. You should have received an email earlier this week that outlines the day and time that your child should attend. It is a very time-driven and highly organised operation, so please make sure that you are prompt for the drop off and pick up times as there are rolling groups of 10 children in school all day every day during the week. If you have not received an email with these details please email info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk with your child's name and current class. New children who will be joining Millfields Reception will have already been sent an information pack and a transition video from each of your teachers, and will also be joining us in the last week for a transition meeting. I am looking forward to seeing you all in the final week when you meet your new teachers or if not, in September. Nursery classes will have their welcome and transition sessions in the new term -more information to follow.
I would like to give a special mention to all the children in our 3 Key Worker groups, some who have been in school every day since the school closed! They have all been brilliant -they have enjoyed lots of learning, socialising and playing with lots of different children who they might not usually be with. new friendships have been formed and they are certainly showing that they are resilient, confident, flexible and adaptable -all great qualities. Well done all of you!
I know you will have heard in the news that schools will be reopening for all children in September. I really hope so and am looking forward to seeing you all and getting back to some kind of routine and normality! Each school will be doing their own risk assessments and organisation in preparation for this and school life certainly won't be what we are used to but we will be preparing to make sure that the return is as smooth as possible. There will be more information about the arrangements for start dates, drop off and pick up times, as well as some curriculum information before the start in September -keep checking those emails!
Finally a huge 'thank you' to you all for all the fundraising activities and the generous donations for the School Council year group charities. The following charities will be so happy to receive the donations at this very difficult time for us all. Hackney Food Bank, Cancer Research UK, Great Ormond Street Hospital, World Wildlife Fund, CLIC Sargent Children with Cancer Care and Unicef UK. As ever, the Millfields' community has gone above and beyond. Thank you!
I hope you all have a good weekend, and enjoy some sunshine.
Take care, stay well, and keep safe.
Jane
Message from Headteacher
I hope you have all had a good week, and enjoyed the amazing sunshine we have had, although I do hope that you have been practising social-distancing! I know that lots of you are now visiting other family members and friends, but please do try to keep that 1 metre plus distance that we are being advised. It is very difficult for us in school to stick to the guidance that we have been given, if the children tell us that they haven't been adhering to it out of school! Thanks for your support with this!
Thank you for all the amazing work you continue to do at home, and for encouraging your child to join the Zoom calls at least once a week -it is important to keep the momentum going for the next 3 weeks before the summer break, and to ensure that the children keep in contact with their classmates and their teacher.
Thank you for the brilliant work I have seen this week and for the very relevant and important debate that has been taking place in class zooms and at the home learning stations, aka the kitchen table! It is so important that we listen to the children and are ready to answer their concerns and questions, and respond to the local, national and international issues that we are all faced with daily, and that children may not always fully understand . It is our children's views and opinions that will shape their future, and we can only hope that with their informed and curious minds, their sense of respect, and their value of everyone's rights and justice, it will be a fair and equal world, with a better future for everyone.
As we start to come to the end of summer term, we are finalising the arrangements for class teachers next year, and are currently working on what the school day, the curriculum and the environment might look like in September. We will of course continue to follow the guidance from the government next week, which we expect to be a bit more conclusive so that we can make firm plans for the September restart. I would like to reassure you that, like most Headteachers and Senior Teams across the country, we will make sure that the children's collective and individual needs, academically, physically and emotionally are met during the first term and for the rest of the year. The curriculum will very much focus on 'catch-up' in Maths, phonics, reading and writing, and will also focus on the well-being and mental health of the children, as lockdown has undoubtedly affected us all in some way or another. We also want to ensure that there is room for some of the topics and themes that make Millfields so special.
In terms of classes for next year, you will receive an email next week with a date for your child to come and say 'goodbye' to their old teacher, and 'hello' to their new teacher. These sessions will be organised in groups of 10 and will be at set times throughout the day, on different days, so please make sure you are aware of the exact days and times as we continue to ensure that social distancing is adhered to.
Finally, please look out for a questionnaire that will be coming your way next week to ask about some of your child and your family's experiences, anxieties and concerns during lockdown. Please take time to complete this as fully as possible, as this will help with our planning and provision for your child and the school as a whole on their return.
Message from Headteacher
I cannot believe that we are at the end of another week! On Monday, we welcomed back lots of Reception children who were in school for 2 days, and on Wednesday, Y1 children returned to school. They all worked hard and really impressed us with their learning -they needed a bit of reminding about some learning behaviours, but they haven't forgotten everything, and in fact have all really made progress in their learning in lots of areas, especially writing in Year 1!
This is of course, thanks to all of the wonderful parents and extended families who have been and continue are supporting your children so well at home. A huge 'thank you' for working so hard and ensuring that the children are engaging with the work that teachers are sending, and attending the Zoom sessions each week -please try to make at least one of the meetings as we like to make sure you are staying in touch with the teacher and their classmates.
It has been so lovely to hear all the parents and children chattering at the gate, albeit in a long socially-distanced line, and it was so good to hear about all the amazing things, as part of home learning, that you have all been doing during lockdown.
It seems very strange that we are thinking about the end of an academic year already, as we have only been in school for just over half the academic year. And I am missing, as I am sure you are, all the summer events and end of term celebrations -let's hope we can get back to some normality next term. In the meantime, teachers have completed the end of term Annual Reports for all children -of course attainment and effort comments will mainly be based on where the children were in March, but they should still give you an idea what your child has done well and what they need to improve on. The reports will be sent out towards the end of this month, and will be sent via email.
Also, this is the time of year that we are finalising and organising transition events and thinking about staff and teachers for the next academic year. Once this is finalised, you will receive notification and there will be a 'Transition Day' set up in the school playground, in groups of no more than 10, for the children to say goodbye to their old teacher and spend some time meeting and getting to know their new teacher. This will be during the week beginning 13th July -more on this in the next few weeks.
Just to reiterate the sentiments in my email to parents and carers earlier this week, we will continue to keep you updated with any developments following government announcements and guidance around school wider offer. We of course, want to see as many children back in school as soon as possible, so hopefully September! Fingers crossed!
It looks like the sunshine is back this weekend and into next week, so enjoy some time outside with your family, and see lots of you again next week.
Take care, keep well and stay safe,
Jane
Message from Headteacher
Well, this is the week that we would have been electing our new Millfields prime Minister, and although this obviously wasn't able to happen this week, all of you have been very busy learning about democracy, with an emphasis on the right to have your voice heard. This has been particularly important in light of the recent tragic death of George Floyd that you will undoubtedly have heard about in the news over the last week or so.
In light of this, many of the discussions and debates this week on Zoom sessions have been around equality, anti-racism and protesting -being heard. The children at Millfields, as always, have been very vocal, very animated, intelligent and empathetic in their views that they have shared. They have also been very busy making posters, writing reports and letters and thinking about how we can all help make the change that is needed for a better future that is fair and equal. Thank you to you all for getting so involved and working with your children and talking with them this week as we marked 'Democracy Week'. The success of the whole week was down to the brilliant planning and organisation from Emma -such fantastic engagement from the whole school community. There has been no campaigning, hustings or election of a Prime Minister at this time, but we are hoping that this will be something we can do in the Autumn term if and when we are all back together. In the meantime, a big 'thank you' to our current PM, Rosa Jenkins, for her inspiration and ideas this year and for taking the time to speak to you all at the beginning of the week via video link.
I too, have been thinking about the effect that recent worldwide events, on top of a world pandemic, will have on the children at Millfields and beyond -the Black Lives Matter movement, debate on the removal of racist and offensive TV programmes/media content, as well as the removal of statues of people in the past who should never be revered and the need for a total revision of the curriculum that we teach in school. We, as a school, need to work with our children and families to ensure that they all feel supported, valued and connected to their communities. Their sense of belonging is paramount right now and I am sure you are all doing whatever you can at home to reinforce this message. Children and families will have a range of emotions they are dealing with as this hateful injustice will quite rightly spark concerns here as well as abroad. Please see the link below to the Mayor of Hackney’s message which marks Hackney out as a borough that actively works to be Anti- Racist.
https://news.hackney.gov.uk/statement-from-the-mayor-and-cabinet-about-the-death-of-george-floyd/
We have already been doing some work as a staff this academic year around 'Unconscious Bias', 'Equalities' and 'Cultural Capital' so we are already on the way to thinking how we at Millfields can make sure that the experience, including the curriculum, reflects and celebrates our diverse and inclusive community. There is a link on the school website to a range of recommended books that you may want to read with your child if you have not already. I also hope that you will have watched this week's brilliant assembly prepared and presented by Vicvky and her son, Sam, that focuses on tackling racism and being the change for a better future.
Thank you to all the parents who completed the questionnaire that was sent out last week, and a big thank you for all the lovely comments, and also for your suggestions for home learning moving forward, and possibly into September. If you haven't already responded, please do so before the end of Monday 15th June and we will then be able to publish and share some of the stats and comments with you. On that note, I would just like to add that in terms of well-being and safeguarding for all our pupils, there are lots of things going on daily 'behind the scenes'. We are aware that not all pupils had access to IT devices at the beginning of the closure, but we have had several generous donations of laptops and devices that have been distributed to identified families; we have also been delivering paper packs of work to families who have been finding it difficult to access worksheets; we have been calling parents of vulnerable children, identified by social workers, or who have not engaged with zoom, email or Edmodo; we have been collating, collecting and delivering food boxes for children in receipt of free school meals; and have been sign-posting families and individuals to therapy and support organisations. If there is a child or family that you have concerns about, please do get in touch with me or Debi.
Finally, thank you as always, for all your support and for your good wishes and thanks to all the staff during lockdown. We will be welcoming more children back into school next week, so I look forward to seeing some of you then.
Take care, keep well and stay safe.
Jane
School Closure Update
Millfields will be continue to be open for the children of critical workers from Tuesday 2nd June.
For more information on plans for wider opening, please see below:
- Tuesday 2nd June – School will be open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children
- Tuesday 2nd June – Friday 12th June – There will be a phased return for pupils with EHCPs
- Monday 15th June – School will reopen only for Reception children who have already agreed to return -Monday and Tuesday
- Monday 15th June – School will reopen only for Year 1 children who have already agreed to return -Wednesday and Thursday
- Monday 29th June – School will reopen only for year 6 children who have already agreed to return x 8 days only