Hi Midfielders,

Are we already in week three of term six?  What an incredibly busy, but amazing term it has been so far.

I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again – what a talented bunch of people we are!  We have seen amazing acting, singing, dancing and work displayed with various assemblies performed by Grasshoppers, Bluebirds, Owls, Rabbits and Foxes.  Soon it will be Ladybirds class assembly, the Year 6 performance AND ‘Shine’ concert!

On the 19^th of June we celebrated ‘Empty Classroom Day’.  We try and make use of the wonderful outdoor area Midfield School has to offer on a daily basis, but on Friday the WHOLE school dedicated and ENTIRE day to outdoor learning.  Although it was exhausting, it was great fun!  For photos, please visit our ‘Gallery’ on the school website.

Well everyone…hold on to your seats, because we are for a very busy remaining twenty days of school!

Owls

Mrs Viljoen

Well, term 5 has definitely been off to a flying a start!  (Pun definitely intended). We have launched the use off the Learning Ladders – helium balloons, song and dance…the whole she bang!  We are looking forward to visually seeing our progress as we climb the Learning Ladders. This matches with our school motto – REACH: Respond, Engage and Climb Higher.  For photos and more information, visit Owls Class Page on the website.

I’m sure you have noticed that it has become warmer, seeing as we are in the Season of Spring.  Please remember to bring in your water bottle (labelled).  Conditions have improved so much that Forest School (for Early Years and Year One) can resume, so please remember your forest school clothes (labelled). 

Enjoy term 5 - grab hold of every opportunity that Midfield has to offer!

Owls Class

Blog for EYFS 27.3.15

This week we have focused on understanding why Easter is important to Christians and how we celebrate this time at school, home and traditions within the wider community. The children have found out about the Easter story and have enjoyed making patterns on Easter eggs (our maths focus has been symmetry) .The children have made Easter cakes and found out about how chocolate can change.   We have thought about new life and why eggs are associated with Easter.

On Autism Awareness Day we discussed how we were different to our friends (especially through wearing our favourite colours) and thought about ways that other children are different.

Next term our focus will be on transport and travel (‘Off We Go’).

We hope that you will have an enjoyable break with your families.

EYFS Blog Page: 20.3.15

We would like to remind you about our phonics drop-in sessions between 9:00 and 9:50 on Tuesday mornings. We look forward to seeing you !

This week’s focus has been on Jack and the Beanstalk. We have enjoyed reading and retelling the story and have created our own versions of the Giant’s face! The children have started to think about plants and what they need to grow. We have watered a bean seed  to observe germination and the production of roots and shoots before we sow the plant in compost. Our mathematical foci have been sharing amounts fairly and using the vocabulary needed to compare weight (heavy; heavier; heaviest; light; lighter; lightest)

Next week we will be learning about the significance of Easter to Christians  and  why we give Easter eggs. We will also be thinking about how everyone is different, having different ideas and preferences. This will link to autism awareness day.

Red Nose Day at Midfield

Midfield celebrated Red Nose Day on the 13^th of March 2015! Midfield had a cake challenge. We had to pay £1 to take part in the bake off and the PSA kindly sold the cakes on our behalf after school.  We have managed to raise over £250 and that meant……..MR SHARP had to dye his hair red. It was really fun.  The whole school had to go into the hall to watch Mr Sharp have his hair sprayed red. I laughed so much that I was crying!

Billy-Rae Kelynack

Midfield celebrated Red Nose Day. It was really fun and we had to bring £1 in to wear red clothes. 

We had to bring some cakes into school for a bake off – we had to pay a pound to enter. Well done to Callum and Ellie who won the bake off.  The cakes were sold after school and we raised lots of money, so Mr Sharp had to spray his hair red!

Lily Etheridge

On the 13^th of March Midfield celebrated Red Nose Day!  There was a challenge for Midfield to bake the best cakes so that we could sell them.  To enter, you had to pay £1.  There were so many yummy cakes I could just eat all off them! In the end Callum and Ellie won the bake off.

We had managed to raise over £250 which meant … Mr Sharp had to dye his hair red! Midfield took lots off pictures with him and everyone laughed so much they started to cough. All thanks to Mrs Long & Mrs Cardigan our Red Nose Day HEROES who made sure we had the red dye ready!

That is the end of my Red Nose Day report.

Shemy

In code club we learn how to code objects as so to make characters move on the screen. Mrs Viljoen holds the code club in her classroom. We use code to find and figure out the different puzzles. The most fun thing is that we get to go on to different coding levels when we’ve finished each one. We have to tell the computer what to do to complete the puzzles.

Mia Foster

Year 3 Blog Club

Term 4 Week 2 – reporting back on Book Week

Midfield Book Week

The week starting the 23^rd of February Midfield celebrated their book week.  We met an author called Denis Bond. He wrote more than 40 stories!

Lily Etheridge

Midfield Book Week

The week starting the 23^rd of February, Midfield celebrated their book week. We got to meet the author Denis Bond. My class book was Oliver Twist so we had to dress up as characters out of Oliver Twist .The character I dressed up as was Nancy.

Baylee-Rae Kelynack

Midfield book week

The week starting the 23^rd of February, Midfield celebrated their book week. We met the author Dennis Bond . I dressed up as Oliver Twist on world book day, because my class read Oliver Twist that week.

Leonard Lovick

EYFS blog 26.2.15

Another fantastic week! We have really enjoyed Book Week and Science Week. The children have told stories, role played and created broomsticks and ‘Gruffalos’. We have found out about the best materials for building houses (courtesy of the 3Little Pigs and The Science Museum Workshop). The children have completed writing connected to their class stories and have focused on learning how to write numbers correctly. We all enjoyed dressing up!

Next week we will continue with the story of the 3 Little Pigs. In addition we will start our phonics drop in sessions. The children will be working with their new groups for the first time on Monday so you will be able to see how the Read Write Inc sessions help them and some of the teaching techniques involved.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Tuesday!

EYFS: Blog : 13.2.15

What a fantastic week we have had! The children have been very enthusiastically taking part in Healthy Living Week and have learned about healthy diets; exercise and having fun!

We have also spent time finding out about China, Chinese Culture and Chinese New Year. The children had the opportunity to visit the Bluebird Class Noodle Bar and try some stir fried vegetables and noodles (we are so pleased that we no longer have carpet in Bluebirds class!)

When we return to school it will be ‘Book Week’ This will mean that the children will enjoy a range of activities connected to the stories of Julia Donaldson. Bluebirds will focus closely on ‘The Gruffalo’ and Grasshoppers on ‘Room on the Broom’. We will also have a visit from an author (Denis Bond). As it is also Science week, we will participate in activities related to the 3 Little Pigs story (investigating materials).

EYFS Blog 6.2.15

The children really enjoyed the opportunity to play in the snow this week and worked hard finding out about its properties and how it changes as the temperature increases. We were fortunate to take part in the visit from Rion Pierre who inspired the children when they were taking part in the activity session (circuit training in the hall!). In addition to this we have thought about how fish are different to other pets and how we can sort animals by their skin covering (do they have fur, feathers or scales?). During our Maths sessions we have ordered numbers and practised addition and subtraction by using the Maths Makes Sense cups. The children are working on mixed addition and subtraction problems such as 2+3+3-2= 6. Next week we will be continuing with the School Healthy Living project and finding out about how some people celebrate Chinese New Year.

23.1.15: EYFS

We have carried on with our animal theme this week and have focused on cats. We have enjoyed reading the ‘Mog’ books.

The children wrote information about what cats need, made labels and collages and found out about some of the difference between wild cats and domestic cats (this came with sound effects). We have carried on with our Read Write Inc programme this week and the children carry on working in their groups. During Maths the children have practised addition and  we have worked formally on subtraction for the first time (‘get ready to take away’). They have acted out number stories (using the correct Maths Makes Sense language) and both additions and subtractions within the same number story.  They have used ‘cups’ to solve the problems. Next week we will be reading stories about rabbits and finding out information about how to care for a rabbit. Our mathematics next week focuses on writing numbers and carrying on and creating patterns.

Bluebirds and Grasshoppers back at school!

It has been fantastic welcoming the children back to school. We hope you had a restful Christmas break with your families. The children enjoyed telling us about their favourite gifts!

We have carried on with our Read Write Inc programme this week and the children have started to work in their new groups. During Maths the children have worked with 2D shapes and have sorted them by the number and size of the straight edges. Our topic this term is ‘Amazing Animals’ and the children have talked about their pets and other favourite animals. They have collected data and created a class pictogram to find out which is our class’ favourite pet. Next week we will learn about dogs and read stories that they feature in. We will work on adding amounts to find a total. We also worked on the importance of hand hygiene in stopping ‘germs’ from spreading. The children covered their hands in glitter and then saw what would happen when they touched other people and things!

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.