Wow! What a busy term it has been building up to an exciting time of year! It's a shame of course that we have once again had the sickness bug doing its rounds....With lots of staff and children feeling poorly, we definitely are ready for a winter break!

Amongst all the rehearsing, we have all still continued working hard and achieving the best we possibly can. Of course we always ensure we add fun to our curriculum. The time tunnel in the corridor is looking great, the drumming workshop with Jeff Rich and Dan in our new music garden was amazing, puzzle day was a treat and watching 'Wizard of Oz' yesterday is something that children will certainly remember for ever! We always remember those special primary school moments don't we?

But finally I have to say the highlight of this term has got to be our Christmas shows. Watching children perform with great confidence and enjoyment is always a delight. There are always so many hidden talents amongst children which come to the surface during these times. We certainly have some talented performers!
That's it for now. Time for us to recharge now and come back fighting fit, ready for another successful year!
Have a lovely Christmas Midfielders and a fantastic New Year!

Best wishes


Mrs Sesli

Never mind X-factor - we have the ‘Aaaaw/Wow’-factor!  I had high hopes for our EYFS, KS1 and KS2 performances and, to quote Simon Cowell, ‘You delivered!’  I’ve had the privilege to see all three performances and I was not disappointed – well done!  Adults who are coming to see the KS 2 performance – you are in for a treat!

Despite rehearsing for our performances and continuing with the curriculum, we still managed to squeeze in some time for making Christmas decorations.  These will be going home to add even more festive décor to your homes.  There has most definitely been a buzz in the air since the post box (for Christmas cards) has been put up in the foyer.  At the end of the day it is such a pleasure to see children’s faces light up when they give out or receive Christmas cards.

In the meantime, our Celtic roundhouse is slowly but surely taking shape.  It is looking fantastic and I cannot wait for Owls to use it when we learn about the Iron Age!

Sadly some Midfielders have been quite unwell.  You have been missed and our thoughts are with you.  We do hope you feel better soon and that you will be fighting fit for Christmas in no time!  Please remember to bring in water bottles to school so that you can have a drink often, especially if you are not feeling well.

With only one day to go before break up, I would like to remind you to read as often as possible at home - remind your adult to note this down in your reading record.  You may read any book you like; you are not limited to the book you are given by your teacher.  Also, do make the effort to complete your homework and pay special attention to your spellings and timetables.   Lastly – new clubs are starting in January.  Remember to complete these forms and return it to school so that you can join in the fun!

 Enjoy the break.  Have a good rest (healthy eating, exercise, go to bed early and washing your hands often), so that you can come back in January refreshed and ready to learn.  To help with the fresh start, remember to wear the proper school uniform and to bring in your PE kit!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas – Feliz Navidad! 

Mrs Viljoen

Hi Midfielders,

Goodness me what a busy, but exciting time we have had!  I can’t believe that it is already the fourth of December!  I have all the wonderful Christmas songs stuck in my head and I have heard some of you hum a melody while completing a task in class.  I’m looking forward to seeing your Performances!

Owls and Ladybirds went to Kent Life where we learned a lot about the Stone Age.  Some children represented our school at Crystal Palace with cross country running and some classes have been on other outings.  All classes also wrote a story to be entered into a writing competition.  All the while, after school clubs have been going on as normal. I just feel exhausted typing about our action packed schedules!

Our time tunnel looks fantastic and every time I walk through the passage, I feel like a time traveller.  Some Midfielders seem particularly impressed as I have heard words such as ‘epic’ and ‘this looks amazing’ as they’ve walked past the display boards.

At the moment the classes are working hard on making things to sell at the Christmas Fayre.  A lot of time and effort has been invested in this, particularly by the PSA and I hope to see a big turnout.

With eleven days to go to the Christmas holidays, take good care of yourself.  Go to bed early, wrap up warmly, eat your fruit and vegetables and wash your hands often. 

Take care,

Mrs Viljoen

As you know we are celebrating Spanish week and Staff really enjoyed Mexican treats yesterday. Here is the recipefor those who have asked...enjoy!  Buen apetito!

Chilaquiles for 6 persons

Ingredients:

4 pasata tins (you can get ones with chile already)

4 bags of tortilla chips (I suggest to get plain and low salt)

1 block of cheddar cheesse

Turmeric

Black Pepper

Onions (if you like them)

Chicken (needs to be cooked already either real or vegetarian) Optional

2 Small Avocados

Jalapenos (Optional)

Parsley

1.    Put a layer of tortillas in the dish and squash them freely

2.    Spread 2 pasatta sauce tins on top of the torillas. Use the same bottle to measure one tin of water and spread all over evenly.

3.    Add some pepper a layer of turmeric.

4.    In goes the chicken and the jalapenos

5.    Add another layer of tortillas and repeat step 2

6.    Stick into the oven at 180 for 15 minutes

7.    Take out of the oven and add the chesse on top to melt for 5 minutes.

8.    Take out, decorate with the avocado more tortillas on the side you can put some parsley and ENJOY!!

2014- 2015 A New Curriculum….something to look forward to.

Well I was only going to write about MFL (Modern Foreign Languages), but too many things have happened since the first day of September.

Last Friday I went for a pizza with my wife and her friends. Six 3 ½ year old girls and their mums! 

As you can imagine being the only man on the table, I was quite “challenged ” having to  engage in conversation with small children and trying to hold it all together after a long week where I had been with children all day.

In between children screaming, laughter and flying pieces of pizza, I was picking up the colouring pencils from the floor when I heard one of the mums talking about schools and education, OFSTED Reports, and the big expenses of private education.

This was my heaven sent opportunity to stop being the nanny and to be able to join in to the adult conversation for at least five minutes.

After a couple of glasses of wine the mums had started chatting about the eternal subject “which schools would they apply for in September”. I thought I would share their absolute shock when they heard that there was a new curriculum and that this meant essential changes were on there way. The table went quiet when I mentioned the inclusion of Modern Foreign Languages, which could be “ancient or modern” ones. They all went on to their mobiles and started searching when I mentioned the changes in Geography, History and COMPUTING!!!! The discussion went on and on and some of them texted later to ask where they could find more information about this and asked what schools were doing about it.

Anyway, what this shockingly festive moment confirmed to me was that generally parents have got all the best intentions of securing their children the best education they can. However there is little digestible and relevant information for them.

That motivated me to write this brief blog and reflect on what kind of media should we use as teachers to communicate between us effectively, certainly emails are good but going through 25 emails where we all agree on something, can take time from a teacher’s already busy day.

 I have always thought that a staff blog can be immediately accessible, for us to communicate, catch up and reflect on what has been going on. It is quite simple to use and can be also very quick.

For instance I wanted to share with you, how excited and enthusiastic the children have been about MFL this year, which for me has been a big incentive and has kept me very motivated to go through the inevitably tedious hours of planning and marking.

Have a look and enjoy.

Mr Santillan (Spanish Teacher)

Hi Midfield Super Stars!

As always, the autumn term is definitely a busy one!  Well done to all of you who have fallen into good routines already! I'm very impressed that so many of you are living-up to the expectations your teachers have when it comes to reading at home and homework.  For those who are not quite there yet - keep trying to read every day and remember that homework is due on Wednesdays in most classes.

I've also noticed that you are all looking extremely smart - particularly Year 6 in their fantastic ties and jumpers!

This week, all of our after-school clubs are starting, so it will be an extra exciting week for many of you!  We also have some musicians joining us on Thursday for a day of musical activities - how fabulous!

Keep up the hard work all of you and keep smiling (it's contagious don't you know)! :o)
Miss Findlay

Welcome back everyone! Hope you all had a lovely summer holiday. Just seems like it was over a bit too quick! I am delighted that all the building work carried out over the summer was completed in time for our first day back – it was touch and go. The staff have been brilliant at cleaning, sorting and organising the school to get it back into shape. We are almost back to normal….

Time certainly flies when you are having fun…coming to the end of week 3 already! I am pleased to update you that we have kick started the new term with great teaching and learning and it’s lovely to see better improved behaviour throughout the school.

May I thank you all for making a big effort to send your children in to school on time and in the correct uniform – we are looking super smart. Attendance is looking great so far too! Well done to all children who have the correct PE kit. Raising awareness of a healthy lifestyle is something we are determined to improve this year. Please support us!

Keep checking out our website as we are always updating with news and events. Wishing you all a successful year!

Best wishes

Mrs Sesli

Community

Well it’s a huge hello from me to you, as not only am I one of Midfield’s newest teachers, but  I have been given the privilege of writing for the new staff blog. With Mrs Sesli’s blog proving to be so popular we thought some readers might like to hear from teaching staff too.

Given that, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for being so welcoming since I joined as year 6 teacher in April. I’ve had a fabulous first half term getting to know the school, staff and children and cannot express enough how happy I am to be a part of this fantastic community.

In fact, in this blog ‘community’ is really my main focus because from the day I came in to for my first interview to right now, as I sit listening to the children rehearsing for their school production, it is the sense of community which comes across so strongly here.  Children looking after each other, taking responsibility for their learning and contributing to the running of their school, coupled with staff who work so hard to bring this all together, whilst maintaining a supportive and happy moral among themselves. Such a combination is difficult to create - yet here we have it in bundles!

On that note then it’s no wonder the year 6s are so sad at the prospect of leaving in July; but at least they will go safe in the knowledge that Midfield has provided them with the best start in their education they could possibly have had.

From the people who held their hands as they nervously took their first steps through the reception doors, to the ones who sat and listened to their troubles and fears when they felt down and the ones who sparked their ambition and fed their hunger for knowledge; at Midfield the feeling that we will get through this together is clear. And for those year 6s who are with me until they do leave; I can promise that we will make these last few weeks the best yet!  So Midfield – thanks for having me and here’s to the future of excellence and community! Best wishes from Mrs S Donnelly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome back everyone! It's been a really short week but we have had a great start. You may notice a few new faces around the school. I'm sure you will join us in welcoming them to our happy school. I would love to know what you all think about our new outdoor EYFS setting and our outdoor nature play area. The children have had a wonderful time learning through play. I am delighted that our attendance figures have drastically improved. An excellent end to the week with 96% attendance. Let's hope we can keep this going for the rest of the term. Have a great weekend. Hope the sun comes out :)

Mrs S

Happy new year!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas holiday. It's great to be back to a routine and to stop eating chocolate!

The start of this term has been a positive one and myself and staff now feel that last month was a bit of a blur. Having Ofsted in the middle of Christmas rehearsals wasn't ideal, however we are all now relieved that it's over and we can build on the positive and develop even further. Ofsted have confirmed that we are heading in the right direction, so of course we are delighted and feel extremely proud of our achievements. It's important to mention here that the partnership we have with our families, is a key ingredient to this success. Thank you all very much :)

We have a few events coming up this term for parents who wish to find out about Read, Write, Inc and Maths Makes Sense. Look out for dates on our newsletters.

I would like to welcome Mrs Willmot who is now leading the Tree House. Some of you may be aware that the unit has not had a leader for almost a year, so well done to the team for providing quality provision for our Tree House pupils. The outstanding progress was acknowledged by Ofsted.

I haven't used my blog as frequently as I would like to. Not sure if parents are reading my postings. It would be lovely to have some comments posted in return. As always your views are very much taken into consideration.

Best wishes

Mrs S