This week seems to have flown by and we have certainly been enjoying the lovely sunny weather!

Welcome back to everyone! All the children seem very happy to be back in school, they look well-rested and ready for the busy summer term! It has been a very calm and relatively quiet week (by Millfields standards!) and all the classes seem to be settled, and ready to learn!

This term is, unbelievably, the beginning of the last term of my time at Millfields -very sad, a bit scary, but also exciting! It's going to be an emotional one! I will continue to be here and work hard with the Millfields team to keep all the amazing things that your children experience at Millfields going, and also ensure to encourage embracing the change, and welcome the new members of the Millfields community! I have no doubt that the old saying, 'a change is as good as rest' is exactly what we all need to prepare for and take on together, supporting each other as always.

It was nice to welcome Robin and Anna in the playground today, and thank you to the parents and children who said 'hello' and made them feel welcome. They also met with the support staff today. So we will continue to work together for the rest of this term to ensure a smooth transition in September.

This week, teachers have been introducing the new learning for this term and there is a real buzz around the school about William Shakespeare! Each year-group is studying a different Shakespeare play or poem, and there has been a lot of great role play, brilliant orating, puppet making and fantastic character and setting descriptions. Some of the plays being read are Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale. The children in Y1 know lots of facts about Shakespeare too. He was born in Stratford upon Avon, he died on 23rd April in 1616, his plays were on stage at The Globe Theatre and lots more. There have already been some brilliant acting and drama sessions around the class play, so the children are really immersing themselves in the
world of Shakespeare. I am looking forward to reading some of the children's rewrites of the plays and scripts in the next few weeks!

This is a short half-term, so we are busy getting ready for some of our theme weeks coming up! Y5 have their residential trip to Kench Hill in Kent, and Y6 have their SATS tests, and there is the Hackney School Run on Saturday 16th July. Just before half-term, we have the ever popular 'Parents & Families Week', and we are organising lots of the usual activities, including an after-school Family Picnic for the whole school, and 'Come Dine With Us' event for Y3. Look out for more information and how to book in for the events in the next few weeks.

We are also looking towards Sports Fortnight that happens in July, and have already begun putting together a timetable of sporting activities. As always, if you have any skill in any fitness or sporting activity and have some time and plenty of enthusiasm, we would like to hear from you! Please email Ashraf at: amohi@millfields.hackney.sch.uk if you think you can help out in any way!

Finally a reminder to remove your bikes and scooters at the end of each day, and especially on a Friday ahead of the weekend. Also, please try to store your scooters and bikes in an orderly way! And a reminder that there is a weekly 'Ride Out -Bike Bus' before school every
Wednesday at 8:20am - see the poster in the Mag for the route.

Have a lovely weekend. Stay well and take care. Jane

I cannot believe that we are at the end of the Spring term already, and we have had another busy week at Millfields, not sure if there is ever a week that is not busy here!

It has been STEAM Week and all classes have thoroughly enjoyed the activities across the week. We started the week with a special assembly to introduce the theme for this year from the British Science Association: 'Curiosity: What’s your question?'. It aims to inspire our children to dive into their interests and find solutions to their most pressing STEAM inquiries. There was also a whole school investigation - 'Curious about bubbles'! Nursery and Reception classes looked at how many different ways they could make a bubble; Y1 and Y2 thought about what bubble shapes they could make; and Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6 built on this to think about the best bubble they could make and what they might mean.

All classes also took part in the BBC Live Lesson where the children investigated light energy and learned about the moon and our solar system. There was also a lesson on 'Smashing Stereotypes' which consisted of a collection of stories from individuals and teams that we hope sparked a change in perceptions of people and careers in STEM. Children also had the opportunity to ask curious questions all week. Some classes also took part in a local nature trail to engage their curiosity in nature and their local surroundings. Year 5 and Year 6 also took part in a coding presentation and workshop at the beginning of the week. So the children have been fll of science chatter, please ask them about their learning this week as always. Huge 'thank you' to Naomi and Lucy for organising the week, and to all your children for their amazing curious and inquisitive minds!

Also this week, Y5 and Y6 have completed this term's TasteEd lessons -as always, the children love trying new foods and talking about the taste, sound, look and smell of different fruit and vegetables. Thanks to Bruno for organising!

A massive 'THANK YOU' to everyone for dressing up in your party clothes, bringing in lots of lovely food and joining in our celebration of Eid across the whole school. I hope that all our Muslim families enjoyed their Eid celebrations last week as they marked the end of Ramadan, and I know that all of the children have enjoyed their Eid parties in class today.

On the first day and week back we will be taking part in the NSPCC campaign: 'Speak Out, Stay Safe'. This may have some quite difficult and challenging content but it is really important to educate the children about staying safe and safeguarding themselves. If you want to talk with your child ahead of the assembly, then please have a look at the website here: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/services/speak-out-stay-safe Y6, Y5 and Y2 children will also take part in workshops with NSPCC staff during the week.

Finally, thank you for your continued support and patience regarding the change in leadership at Millfields -it has been a long journey to get to this place and I want to assure you that even though the Millfields family dynamics are changing, we will remain strong and steadfast in our core values going forward -next term, and beyond, and work with the Blossom staff to continue to do our very best for each and every child.

I hope that you all have a restful break with family and friends, and hope for some sunshine! And remember the clocks go forward this weekend, so more light evenings ahead.

Take care and stay well. Jane

It seems like a very busy and very long week, and I cannot believe that there is only one week left before the Easter break!

Firstly, 'Eid Mubarak' to all our Muslim families. I hope you have all had a lovely day celebrating with family and friends.

Today, the school playground and corridors were filled with chatter and laughter as the whole school celebrated Comic Relief - Red Nose Day! The children and staff were dressed in red, and there were lots of btrilliant;y designed red noses on show! We

have sold more than 650 red noses, and raised more than £300 from on-the-gate donations. Thank you, as always, to the Millfields community - all the money will be going towards Comic Relief charities! The children have all been hearing about the origins of Comic Relief in assemblies this week, and also learned about the many charities that the money raised supports.

Yesterday some of our Cycling Team from Y5 and Y6 took part in the 6th Hackney Cycling League -speed trials on Hackney Downs. The whole team did so well, and all of them clocked high finish times across the 3 races they took part in- a couple of first, second and third places. It means everyone contributed to the overall total points that keeps us at the top of the league! Well-done to all the children who took part and continue to make cycling so
successful at Millfields. Thank you to Nishie who always supports the children so well.

Have a lovely weekend!  Take care, keep well, and stay safe. Jane

Firstly another BIG thank you for all the amazing cakes that you made for the Great Millfields World Book Day Bake-off! And for helping us sell them after school. We are getting feedback from the children about the books they would like to see in the school library. And the children who took part all received a certificate in assembly and winners all received a £5 book voucher! Well done everyone!

This week has really flown by, and the children have been so busy, as always with their learning in school and out and about in the local area.

If there wasn't enough excitement last week after the Art Exhibition, this week has been 'Book Week' at Millfields, and the school has been full of all things reading and celebrated being part of the National Year of Reading. It has been great to hear the children talking about authors and characters in the books and comics that they enjoy reading, and to read the brilliant stories that they have been planning and writing in class -there are definitely some future authors, journalists and playwrights out there!

Classes have visited the local libraries, the school library and the local bookshop, Paiges to spend their World Book day tokens.  We had a great turnout for the Reading Breakfasts for Y3, Y4 and Y5 parents and children. It was lovely to see so many children reading with their adults while enjoying a late breakfast snack. And it was lovely to see the Y1 and Y2 parents coming to Family Reading in class as they do every Friday. All welcome every week!

Yesterday, we had a brilliant time celebrating World Book Day! As ever, well done and 'thank you' to the Millfields' children (and parents of course!), and staff, who all made a massive effort dressing up. All the costumes were amazing - especially the homemade ones!

Also, THANK YOU to the children and parents for the amazing cake creations today -just wow, it was so hard to decide on the winners. All of the children who made something will receive a certificate and we (SLT and Y6 Reading Champions) have chosen 20 winners who will each receive a £5 book token. Well done again and thank you. The cakes and baked goods were sold after school to make some money for new library books to be chosen by our KS2 Reading Champs!. And wow, what a crowd there was! Thank you everyone, and especially to the parents and staff who stepped in to help sell!  There are some photos in the Mag!

A BIG THANK YOU also to all the parents, grandparents and family members who have come into class to read stories this week. Thank you also to the staff who have been reading books in different languages to the classes -Portuguese, Georgian, Irish, Spanish, Germa, Italian and many more. The children have thoroughly enjoyed hearing so many different adults reading to them and have asked for more of this! Thank you so much to all of you who came in! Remember if you are in Nursery or Reception, you are welcome to come in to read throughout the year, please speak to your child's class teacher to arrange this.

Thank you to all the staff, parents and pupils for really entering into the spirit of this week and making World Book Day and all the reading activities throughout the week so enjoyable. And a big thank you' to Sheyenne for organising it all and for having the energy and enthusiasm to make it all happen.

On the sports front, the girls football team did really well earlier this week and won the match on Tuesday to take them through to the semi-finals. And today, the football girls will again take part in a one-off competition to celebrate International Women's Day. We were the winner last year so fingers crossed! So, on Sunday, it is International Women's Day, and we will be marking this through assemblies next week -please speak to your child about a brilliant, talented and inspirational woman that you know and see if they can name one!

Y2 has been learning about inspirational women in History and both Zambezi and Nile classes shared their learning in assemblies this morning -thank you to all the parents who supported their child.

A reminder that Spring term Parents' Evenings are now on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st April. You will need to book your slot via SCOpay , but the actual meetings are in person at school. there will be more information in the next few weeks.

Also coming soon.......Friday 20th March is Comic Relief - Red Nose Day, so it is a non-uniform day and we will be asking you to wear your own clothes - something red, and a red nose! Red noses will be on sale for £2 from all the gates and the main office, from the end of next week, and £1 donation on the day! 

Finally, thank you to the parents who have already volunteered their time to sew on the ID buttons on the children's coats! We have been donated a button for each child with their initials & year group on, by an upcoming company ‘Graf Glyph’. We have a mountain of lost coats with no names in them. We still have lots to go, so if you think you could help in your child's class, please email Debi on dcookhorn@millfields.hackney.sch.uk

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

It was lovely to welcome everyone back after half term, and to see all the children looking rested and ready for this half term's learning! And welcome back to Dudley, our Y5 TA! This week in assemblies we talked about all the celebrations and events over half term -Lunar New Year, the start of Lent -Shrove Tuesday and the start of Ramadan. The children were all very knowledgeable about all of them and we will be continuing to talk about these festivals and celebrations throughout the term.

And, wow, it has been a very busy week as children and staff gathered all the amazing artwork produced during Creative Week before half term, and we were amazed by Jess's vision to create the fantastic Art Exhibition that we welcomed children and their families to on Wednesday evening. This year's 'Creative Week' theme was 'Robots'. We looked at how the world is changing through advances in technology, engineering, and artificial intelligence. We talked about how robots are increasingly used to help people in areas such as healthcare, transport, space exploration, and industry. All of the children created something that contributed to the whole exhibition -from robots, stop animation, futuristic cityscapes, collages and lots more!

Nursery children created robot pictures with printing and paints ; Reception children made 2D robots; Y1 made 3D robots, Y2 made junk-modelling robots; Y3 made robot animals; Y4 and Y5 made futuristic cityscapes. The artwork was varied in so many ways and truly represented all that is in our local community.

Every child in the school produced something for the art display, so it was a truly inclusive event. Both parent and pupil feedback was very positive. A massive well done and thank you to all the staff and of course to the very talented children, and to Jess for having the vision and idea to make it happen in the first place!  Also, Alecia made some delicious food that was on sale and was enjoyed by many parents and children – thank you. The whole evening was a lovely community event and is always one of my favourite nights of the year!

Also this week, Reception children visited Woodberry Wetlands this week as part of their topic work and took part in pond-dipping and minibeasts exploration. The children had a great time, and they found lots of interesting minibeasts. Also, Y3 classes visited Bruce Castle
Museum for a workshop about life in Roman times. This was very useful and has supported in class learning too. Ganges Class visited Cardinal Pole school to take part in a Design technology Workshop -the children loved making their own keyrings!

Today, we were also treated to a  brilliant sharing assembly - the children in Kilimanjaro Class were brilliant. They had written a fantastic script, all learned their lines -and there were lots of them, sang and danced beautifully, worked together, supported each other and entertained all the parents and carers who came. Well done to them all, and thank you to all the parents who came in.

A BIG well done to all the Y5 and Y6 cross country runners who took part in the 4th event of the year, and did brilliantly. All 14 children involved finished in the top 20 and amassed a good points total to keep them in the race for finishing in the top 3 in the league this year! Well done to all the children involved, and thank you to Izaac for organising and supporting, and to all the parents who came to cheer the children on.

A reminder that it is BOOK WEEK next week, and World Book Day is on Thursday 5th March - save the date in your diary. World Book Day 2026 will celebrate the National Year of Reading: 'Go All in' -the National campaign to get more people reading by bringing reading to where culture is. . As well as dressing up as a character from your favourite book, (please do not go out and spend money on new costumes - re-use and up-cycle!). We are also asking you to design and make a cake, cup cake, bread or other savoury foods that represent their favourite book in 'The Great Millfields Bake-off' on Friday 6th March! Prizes will be going to children from each key stage for the best bakes! Then after judging, we will be selling them in the playground at 2.30pm. -all proceeds to the school library fund!

Please see the email and posters that went out earlier this week and again today about all the book activities happening - reading breakfasts for Y3, Y4 and Y5, as well as classes visiting Pages Book Shop, and parents reading to their child's class.

Finally, please make sure that we have 2 or more contact numbers for your child - this is a safeguarding issue. Please email info@millfields.hackney.sch.uk with any additional numbers/contacts or number updates.

Stay well and keep safe. Have a good weekend. Best Wishes, Jane