A belated 'Welcome Back' to all our wonderful Millfields families and welcome to our new families who have joined the Millfields' community this term. A special welcome to all our new Reception class children and parents/carers and other new starters throughout the school. From next week, we will start encouraging the Reception children to come in and go straight to their classes. I know it may seem a bit daunting for the children (and you!) but they will soon settle and get the hang of all the school routines. So, from Monday, please leave your child at the main gate and allow them to walk down to the reception playground themselves. Please talk to your child about this over the weekend to ensure they know the expectations.

In class, the children and staff have already been very busy getting back to the daily routines, setting new expectations and working hard. Thank you for ensuring that your children are wearing the correct uniform and shoes. If your child has not got black/navy blue shoes or trainers, please can you make sure they have them ASAP.  Most importantly, you will hopefully have heard your children talking about our revised Behaviour Policy. We have introduced new rewards for individuals and the whole class, as well as consequences, which are working really well so far, but mainly we have reinforced the behaviour expectations, to be READY, RESPECTFUL and SAFE at all times. Part of the policy is to continually remind the children about zones of regulation to help keep them calm and in control of their emotions in order to learn. Please talk to your child about their new class routines and expectations in class and around school. We will be sharing the revised Behaviour Policy with you in the next few weeks as we are trialling and testing lots of things and want it to be meaningful, manageable and right before we send it out and out on the school website.

The Parent Information Booklets will be sent home for classes in Y1 -Y6 today, but a reminder that PE lessons will start next week, so please ask your child which day they have PE and send your child into school wearing their PE kits on those days that their class has PE. Please note that football shirts should not be worn, so please wear a blue or white t-shirt and dark shorts, and black or dark coloured trainers.

All of the classes have also been electing their Champions and Councillors. Every year, classes choose an Eco, Language, Reading and Equality Champion and  2 x Class Councillors. These groups ensure that all classes have a say through their reps on the things that happen at school. We also appointed all our Cabinet Members this week, and they will be introducing themselves to all the children, with the Prime Minister: Inayah, in assemblies next week.

Thank you to the parents who attended the 'Welcome Meetings' this week; and there will be more taking place next week. We hope to see lots of you there at 4pm on your given day. If you cannot attend, we will email out the powerpoint with all the information after the event. The main form of communication will be via Google classroom, email via SCOpay and texts, so please make sure we have the correct email and phone contact details. Parents in Reception and Nursery classes, please look out for joining details that will also be emailed out.But if there is anything else that you need to ask or want to know more about, please email the class teacher, Age-phase Leader or one of the Senior Leaders, and we will be happy to try our best to help! There is also lots of information emailed to parents and also text reminders, as well as lots of the information that you may need on the school website, which is regularly updated.

As part of their learning each term, all classes will have a visit linked to their Humanities learning, and as many of you know, we have lots of other trips planned for throughout the year, so please complete the permission form within the Google Form on the link below to give permission for all London trips this academic year. We will also send this out via email to remind you to sign up, and to ask for a donation of £20-£50 per child to support the trips and workshops throughout the year.
https://forms.gle/pAAq79SvFPxCDbxf9

Today it was Outdoor Day at Millfields! All classes Y1 -Y6 enjoyed a lovely morning out at Hackney Marshes. They were playing cooperation games, trust games, time trials, den-building, creating nature art and lots more, as well as a taking part in a PE lesson outside in the sunshine.

A few reminders to look out for: the PSA Bake Sales every Friday that will be starting next week; and a reminder that we collect regular donations of non-perishable food for our weekly Food Bank - all donations gratefully received at the main office. Or you can also make a monetary donation -see Jane at the main gates.

Thanks also, for your cooperation and understanding while we ensure that the very popular clublists are established and tried and tested routines are put back in place. We will continue to review and keep you informed of any changes, and strive to find the best solutions. I am aware that there was some disappointment about not getting the clubs that you wanted but we unfortunately have limited space on each day, and we have also introduced additional new and exciting clubs this year that we hope your child might enjoy.

Have a lovely weekend. Take care and stay well. Best Wishes, Jane

At the beginning of the academic year, for parents and carers who have children in Years 1-6, we organise a whole Year Group meeting, followed by a brief class teacher meeting and quick look at the classroom. This is an opportunity to meet the teachers, locate the classrooms and to find out about what your children will be learning this year, as well as familiarising yourself with some of the class and school routines and expectations.

The teachers will also let you know how and when it is best to contact them -usually via email, at the gates at the end of the day, or sometimes on the phone.

After the event, you will receive a copy of the presentation with all of the key information on and receive other relevant curriculum information for this term. There will be time for questions too!

Class/Year Group ‘Welcome Meetings’ 2025 (Middle hall)

Year 6: Tuesday 9th September at 4pm

(MISSISSIPPI –Leigh,  YUKON–Theo,  ORINOCO -Hizza)

Year 1: Wednesday 10th September at 4pm

(OLYMPUS -Joy, KARISIMBI -Kimberlie, KILIMANJIRO -Dean)

Year 2: Thursday 11th September at 4pm

(NILE -Asharaf, DOURO -Polly, ZAMBEZI -Rosa)

Year 3: Tuesday 16th September at 4pm

( ARARAT Angela, FUJI -Bruno, ANNAPURNA -Hurvinder)

Year 4: Wednesday 17th September at 4pm

( YANGTZE -Ella, MEKONG -Jess, GANGES -Laurence )

Year 5: Thursday 18th September at 4pm

( SHENANDOAH - Tom, ACATENANGO -Claire, FITZROY -Naomi)

*Nursery and Reception Classes will have a meeting later in the term once the children have settled as the parents and pupils have had home visits.

What a brilliant day the Millfields community had last Saturday! The Summer Fair was a huge success as always - and the weather was maybe a bit too hot Just perfect! The PSA committee and
other parent volunteers did an amazing job - it ran like clockwork (although I know there were a few close moments behind the scenes!). There were lots of great games and activities, karaoke, a sprinkler that was much needed , food and drink, arts and craft stalls, lots of pre-loved things to buy, tombola and the raffle and lots more. Thanks to everyone for coming along and joining in the fun and helping to raise in excess of £10.000!! Amazing -this will help the school continue to offer lots of amazing experiences into next year. This includes money raised through board sponsorship. THANK YOU to each and every parent who volunteered before, during and after the event, and to those who donated raffle prizes, but a special thanks to all of the PSA committee, especially Alessandra! A great community effort! We need lots more volunteers for the PSA so please come along to the first meeting next term.

Sports Week plus continued this week, with more sports activities including Tag Rugby and visits to Blok Gym. And the ever popular morning aerobics continued until Wednesday! This year, we introduced the Sporting Leaderboard -all of the children across the school were split into teams, and each child was awarded points for showing some of the characteristics of good sporting behaviour -teamwork, perseverance, trying their best, supporting others, taking part, and each day the classes could see where their team were on the whole school leaderboard. We held a special Sports week Assembly on Wednesday morning to celebrate the overall winners and the sports ambassadors from each class! Well done to all the children who got a medal for upholding the sporting values during Sports week, and congratulations to the YELLOW TEAM who were the team with the most points, and won the cup this year. Again - thank you to Ashraf for organising us all!

A special congratulations and well done to all of the 30 + riders who have taken part in the Cycling League events over this year. They won the league quite convincingly again, and we are so proud of them all! There were lots of new riders from across Y4, Y5 and Y6, so thanks to Nishie and the parent volunteers for making this another amazing year!

So, just like that we are at the end of another busy, fun-filled, and immensely enjoyable year at Millfields,and I can only again, thank the whole school community - the children, the parents and families and the brilliant staff we have at Millfields, who have worked hard every day, who have all made it another fabulous chapter of learning. A huge ‘thank you’ to all the amazing parents and carers who have supported their children and the whole school community in so many ways.

Highlights of the year for me have been many, but I Will just mention a few - greeting all the lovely Nursery & Reception children every morning, Families Week including 'Bring Your Pet to School and the first whole school family picnic, Creative Evening, the Summer Fair, World Book Day dress up and Y6 Show, all the trips and visits, The Hackney Run, all the sporting events that we have taken part in, and especially winning the Cycling League for the 10th successive year... the list goes on!

The whole school went out to parks across London yesterday for our summer London Day. It was a lovely day with so many great adventures and activities for all the children - tree climbing, rounders games, nature art, making dens, observational drawing, water-fun and so much more! A lovely end to the year altogether.

As well as being a celebratory time of the year - finishing primary school and moving on, this is also a sad time for the Y6 children and their families, and for me and many of the staff who have seen the current Y6 group develop into confident, inclusive, brilliant, thoughtful and all round amazing human beings - our change-makers for the future! As they get ready to move on to the next stage in their educational journey, we celebrate the brilliant individuals and collective year group who have been ambassadors for the school in every way and on every forum. From their very first day, at the start of their journey at Millfields, it has been a joy and privilege to get to know them! They have thoroughly enjoyed the last few weeks (and I hope the last 7 or 8 years!) at Millfields - the Y6 play, 'Going for Gold;' which was brilliant, Sports Day, the trips and other activities, and of course, the Y6 Party last Friday - there were so many emotions, but mostly they had a great time. Thanks to the parents for putting on such a great event for them! Thank you to all the children and their families in Y6 - you have all been so supportive and we will miss you all! Good luck on the next stage of your journey and remember – continue to make sure your voice is heard and be the best that you can be! Be kind, be brave and be brilliant!

As this is the last Mag of the year, we are also saying good luck and best wishes to Will who has been teaching in Y1 Karisimbi Class and Emma-Jane who has been teaching in Yukon Class who are moving on. Big 'thank you' -I know you will join me in thanking all of them for all their work at Millfields and wishing them all the best and good luck for the future!

Good luck also, to all the children and families who are moving out of London to new houses and new schools in the UK and further afield over the summer – we will miss you all!

Thank you everyone, have a great summer break and I will see you on Wednesday 3rd September. Take care and stay well! Best Wishes, Jane

We are at the end of a very busy, fun-filled, and really enjoyable Sports Week full of a variety of sporting activities! Each morning, at playtime there was lots of energetic aerobics and dancing, which the children and staff really enjoyed.! Thanks to all the staff who got involved, and those who led the fitness sessions, especially Reegan and Jose!! The children have also enjoyed the opportunity for extra PE sessions this week including the daily mile around the school; and lots of different activities that have been on offer for children in different year groups.

Big thanks to the PSA for their sponsorship of the Y5 kayaking trip to Leaside on Tuesday. What a brilliant experience for so many of the children who have never tried this before! Thank you!Tag Rugby sessions will take place next week - many thanks to Hackney Rugby FC for organising.  Thanks to BLOK Gym who have given us a couple of free sessions at their gym next week.Some children from different year groups have also enjoyed roller-bike sessions, hockey sessions and cricket. We held all our Sports days this week, and they were all great fun -the children were very engaged in all the activities and it was very competitive too, and that was only the parents! So much so that Y3 and Y4 parents managed to break the Tug of War rope!!

Thanks to all the parents and carers who supported their children at Sports Days. Big thanks to all the staff who have supported the activities especially PE Coaches, Tom and Kea. This year has been slightly more competitive as each child across the school was allocated a team colour at the beginning of the week, and they have been collecting points every day for sportsmanship, participation, trying their best and team work!

Huge 'thank you' to Ashraf for organising us all, and all the staff who worked hard to make the Sports Days and other activities run so smoothly! More sports activities and Sports Days next week, so sports clothes and water bottles again next week (ONLY Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)!

Also yesterday, the Cycling Team was in action for the final race of the season, at the grass track on Hackney Downs. They did brilliantly, and although we have not been officially notified, we think/hope that the Hackney Cycling League Shield will be coming back to Millfields for yet another year! All of the children who have been involved in cycling over this year, and there have been lots of new cyclists joining our team, have done brilliantly - thank you to all of them. Thanks also to all the parents who have supported the team and a special thanks to Nishie who always organises the team and gets them there in time!

Today, it was Transition morning for all of the children and staff. Children met their new teacher and the teacher met their new class.  We welcomed lots of new children to the Nursery and Reception - lots of little brothers and sisters, as well as welcoming new teacher, Ella to the Millfields staff team.  All our classes are named after rivers and mountains from across the UK and the rest of the world, so it is going to take all the staff and children some time to match the teacher to the class names, but I hope that your child will have spoken to you about their class name and that you will help them research and find out more about their class names over the holidays. It is always a difficult task to allocate teachers to classes and there are always many reasons that my team and I have to consider when making this decision, factors that you may not be aware of as parents, but please be assured that the decisions are not taken lightly and much thought always goes in to the process to ensure the best outcomes, both academically and socially, for all of the children in the class as a whole, and for all the classes across the school.

Next week, the Y6 show will be ready and live -'Going for Gold'. I am really looking forward to seeing it! Y6 parents -there will be tickets sold on the door on your classes allocated day! One more week to go! Next week, we will continue to have lots of other sporting activities, so please continue to wear sports clothes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the whole school London Day is Thursday 17th July -children MUST wear uniform on that day. The whole school will be going to different parks across London -for activities and games and a picnic lunch/party for the end of term!

Please remember that you need to complete a leave request form if your child needs time off during term time, and that this needs to be considered and authorised (or not) before taking the leave.

The teachers have finished writing the annual reports for your child now, so you should have received the report via email earlier today If your child is in Y6, Y4, Y1 or Reception, you should also receive the KS2 SATS, Multiplication Test Results, Phonics Check results or EY Profile. Final reminders: School finishes on Friday 18th July at 2:15pm/2:30pm. There are no After-school Clubs that day. Tomorrow -Saturday 12th July is The Summer Fair! This is always a great community event, and lots of fun, so we hope to see you all there!

Have a lovely weekend. Take care. Jane

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