Hello from Mrs. Barton …..

What another busy week and such a productive time in school. This week, I have been showing many visitors around the school and I have been very proud to take them into classrooms. The atmosphere has been hard-working as well as fun, creative and enjoyable. Colleagues visiting have commented on the behaviour of the children; their use of manners; the ability to talk to adults and their overall warmth and friendliness.

On Monday, staff at Midfield and from other trust schools took part in learning walks around Midfield where they had the opportunity to observe their colleagues in action! Teachers relished this opportunity and found so much that they could then take back to their own class as a way to develop their practice. Thank you to Mr Frost for arranging this.

During Wednesday’s staff meeting, staff were beavering away in corridors and classrooms to update and create new displays. Such great teamwork was evident which is what makes Midfield special.

Welcome to our new staff

We would like to say a very warm welcome to our new staff members who have recently joined Midfield:

Mrs Amanda Horns – Admin assistant

Mr John Nihall – Site manager assistant who will be helping Mr Atta as Midfield is a very big site. I am sure that you will join me in welcoming them both to Midfield.

Catch it, Bin it, Kill it

This is the season of coughs, colds and other nasty germs which can spread rapidly in a school; at Midfield we are keen to minimise any outbreaks. At school we will ensure the children have access to handwashing facilities and all staff follow infection control guidelines. Please continue to reiterate the same hygiene standards at home so that good habits are formed. We want Midfield to stay healthy and ready to learn.

Wishing you a lovely weekend and hopefully the sun will come out.

Classroom News

Grasshoppers and Bluebirds Grasshoppers and Bluebirds have been learning all about the wriggly world of worms! We learned that the thick strip on their body is called a saddle and that their head is the bit nearest to it. We found out that they liked cool, damp, dark places as we searched for them under rocks and logs at Forest School. We also found catkins, which looked like hairy worms! We drew worms from close observation, made a layered wormery for our class worms and visited the composting worms in the Eco Garden. In maths, we have been learning about 3D shapes - especially cubes, cuboids, cones, spheres, cylinders and pyramids.

Hedgehogs

This term Hedgehogs class have really enjoyed learning football skills with the football coach. Over the past few weeks, they have learnt different ways to throw dribble and kick the ball. Yesterday they got into teams and played some matches. Everyone showed great sportsmanship and all shook hands at the end!

Hedgehogs class are very excited for their school trip to St Barnabas Church next week. We have been learning about Christianity and can’t wait for what Reverend Neil has to tell us all about the Church!

Butterflies

This term in Butterfly class, we have been exploring the stories of the Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood. Butterfly class were very lucky to have a visit from the characters in Little Red Riding Hood and they had a turn at re-telling the story. We have been learning about the different materials needed to build a strong house and we even received a letter from Mr Wolf asking for some help to build him a home at Forest School. The children have been using their mathematical skills to plan and create differ-ent strategies.

Beetles

Beetles had there class assembly this week where we re-enacted the trials of King Charles I. This was our first class assembly together and we had a lovely turn out from the parents and KS2. We have been practicing all of January and really enjoyed performing our play. So much in fact, Beetles would love to perform it again for KS1.

Owls

In Owl Class we learnt that there are many different countries in Europe including the UK. We coloured in Europe on a World Map and then tried some different foods from countries in Europe.

Woodpeckers

This week in Woodpeckers, as part of our Geography, we made mountains using potatoes. We drew contour lines on them and recreated them as an aerial view to see how close together the lines were. This showed us that the closer the lines, the steeper the mountain! Great fun!

Robins

Fractions, fractions, and more fractions...Robins have been working hard on lots of different fraction problems (and solutions!). We have been comparing fractions, ordering fractions, adding fractions, subtracting fractions, finding equivalent fractions and even multiplying fractions. Here, we are working towards completing a jigsaw by putting a lot of those skills into practice.

We’ve also been getting outside - despite the weather! Have you noticed the new row of shrubs along the path between the Grovelands Road entrance and

the playground? Robins have been busy!

Squirrels

This week Squirrels class created Japanese blossom trees in art. We had to develop our understanding of colours by mixing the shades we needed ourselves. We found pink easy to mix but brown was a little trickier at first!

Acorns

Following our walk to the shops to buy ingredients we went ahead and baked some lovely gingerbread men.

They were very tasty!

Rabbits

In Rabbits we explored rhythm and sound. We worked in teams to make instruments out of natural ma-terials. We sang songs and even made up some of our own. We had a special guest who came and built us a camp fire for us to have our hot choco-late around :)

Ladybirds

In Maths we have recapped on multiplication, but this time we used Numicon as a pictorial resource. In Literacy we have continued our unit on Traditional Tales. We read the book ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’. We worked in talk partners to write questions for the troll. Then we asked the troll our questions and used his answers to write a diary entry in the role of the troll.

Badgers

In literacy we are still enjoying reading Street Child and would recommend it to anyone! The main character Jim is currently suffering in a Victorian workhouse—we are feeling very grateful that they don’t still exist today!

Foxes

Foxes class had a fantastic time participating in Outdoor adventure activities. We have been focusing on teamwork over the last few weeks and have completed two tasks. The first was to stand on a line in our teams and move ourselves around into height order without falling off the line. We realised that communication and helping others was key to achieving this. The second task allowed us to concentrate more on verbal communication. We were given a pile of flat cardboard boxes and in our teams we had to get to the other side of the playground. We were not allowed to talk first time round and we found this tricky (lots of facial expressions were pulled). Our second attempt went more smoothly as we could verbally communicate. We had great fun!

Oaks

This

week Oak class have been acting out directed role-play scenarios. The children decided who would play each character, found appropriate props, performed their sketch to the class and even remembered to take a bow at the end. A round of applause for all J

Dragonflies

Dragonflies have been super excited about our Class Assembly, which will take place on Thursday 1st February at 2:40. We have had a couple of rehearsals and we are doing really well. We are really looking forward to performing our assembly (which is about Henry VIII), though we are all a little bit nervous too!

Composer of the Month

Beverley Knight 1973 –

Wolverhampton, UK

Beverley Knight, MBE is an English recording artist, radio presenter and musical theatre actress. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released eight studio albums to date and is widely labelled as one of Britain's greatest soul singers. Knight has spent a lot of time on the West End stage, performing the lead role in The Bodyguard, Memphis and

Cats.

Knight has since teamed up with British singer Cassidy Janson and American actress Amber Riley to form a musical theatre super group, known collectively as the "Leading Ladies". Their debut album, Songs from the Stage, was released on November 17, 2017 and features covers songs from Cats, Beautiful and Rent among others.

This month we will be listening to: Week 1: Piece of my Heart

Week 2: Seasons of Love (Leading Ladies) Week 3: Falling Slowly (Leading Ladies)

Week 4: Shoulda Woulda Coulda

NEWS

Welcome To Midfield! We have created a short video to give you an insight into what goes on at Midfield Primary School. Follow the link below to see what makes us ‘Outstanding’.

http://www.midfield.bromley.sch.uk/welcome/

Eco Garden News

Head Lice

Unfortunately, the problem of hair infestation by head lice is steadily worsening. As there are no longer regular inspections made at school by the school nurse, and teachers are not permitted to make checks, we ask you to look at your own children's hair regularly.

If you discover either live head lice or their eggs (called nits) please (1) treat them and (2) inform us. We will, in turn, inform you if there is a child in your child's class who has been unlucky enough to have them.

Remember that head lice prefer clean heads - so there is no disgrace in getting them, it’s bad luck! Daily combing really does help to prevent them breeding. Please ensure long hair is tied back and preferably plaited to limit the spread and help prevent them being caught.

Vacancies at Midfield

Staff vacancies and opportunities to work for Midfield are advertised on our school website. If you are interested in working at Midfield or volunteering to support the children’s learning please follow the link http://www.midfield.bromley.sch.uk/vacancies/

We currently have a number of vacancies for midday supervisors, a teaching assistant and class teacher. Please contact the school for a visit or contact Mrs Cafferkey for more details.

The Children from Robins class helped to plant daffodil bulbs in the border leading to the school entrance and small shrubs along the path to the play ground. They worked in groups and did a fantastic job!

There are lots of bulbs coming up along the side of the path near the fence, please would you keep off the strip of grass there to give them chance to grow. Thank you

Gold Merit Badge Award

Well done to Aimee in Year 6 for achieving her Gold Merit Badge!

Growth Mind-set—Quote of the week

Whole School Attendance

Important Dates for Your Diary

Monday 12th—Friday 16th Half term week

Week commencing 26 February Book Week—more information to follow

Thursday 1st March—World Book Day

Friday 2nd March—Character Day

Wednesday 7th March—Foxes class assembly 2.45 pm

Friday 9th March—PTA Popcorn Club

Wednesday 14th March—Rabbits Class assembly 2.45 pm

Monday 19th March - Year 4,5 and 6 progress review day

Tuesday 20th March— Year 1 and 2 progress review day

Wednesday 21st March—Year 3 progress review day

FROM 6th SEPTEMBER - 24th JANUARY 2017

BLUEBIRDS 96.7% GRASSHOPPERS 95.9%

OWLS 97.0% LADYBIRDS 94.7%

FOXES 95.3% RABBITS 96.5%

HEDGEHOGS 95.3% DRAGONFLIES 96.2%

SQUIRRELS 93.7% BEETLES 96.4%

WOODPECKERS 96.1% ROBINS 96.8%

BADGERS 94.3%

ACORNS 94.7% OAKS 92.2%

OVERALL 95.7%

MIDFIELD PRIMARY

PTA

Dear Parents and Carers

Midfield PTA would like to invite you to the Popcorn Club to watch the Emoji Movie, on the 5th February 2018 3.30-5.30pm, in the school hall.

Tickets are £3.50 per child and include a drink and popcorn/crisps. Children will be taken straight from class by their teacher and will need to be collected from the main gate at 5.30pm.

If your child wishes to attend you will need to purchase a ticket for £3.50 by completing the form below and returning it in a sealed envelope with the correct money to the school office. Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!

Yours Sincerely

Lucy Pyle

Total number of tickets: __________

Total money enclosed: £ __________

Child name _________________________________________________________________

Class ______________________________________________________________________

(Please give name for each ticket)

Signature_________________________ emergency contact number___________________

PTA Chairperson

Please read carefully the information below which sets out how we would communi-cate with you in the event of a Lockdown procedure:

Keeping everyone safe

At Midfield Primary, the safety of all the pupils, staff and parents/carers is at the heart of every-thing we do. As a school, we regularly rehearse our fire drill and the pupils are excellent at leav-ing the school quickly, quietly and calmly. This demonstrates that our evacuation procedure works well and ensures that everyone in school stays safe.

School Lockdown

Lockdown procedures are a standard Health and Safety procedure and aim to give a proportion-ate response to any external or internal incident which has the potential to pose a threat to the safety of children and staff in the school. This may manifest in a number of ways but some examples are: · There is a reported incident / civil disturbance in the local community (with the potential to pose a risk to staff and pupils in the school)

· An intruder is on the school site (with the potential to pose a risk to staff and pupils)

· A warning being received regarding a risk locally, of air pollution (smoke plume, gas cloud etc)

· A major fire in the vicinity of the school

· The close proximity of a dangerous animal roaming loose

In the event of the school needing to implement a lockdown, parents will receive communication advising them that a lockdown is in place. If possible, we will also give details of the reason for this and update as necessary. Parents should not come to or try to ring the school. This is to en-sure you are not putting yourself in danger and that the phone lines remain clear in case they are needed.

The school will communicate with parents when the lockdown has been lifted.

During a Lockdown Procedure, classroom doors are secured and the children remain inside the room until instructed by the teacher to resume their activities. All exterior doors are locked and no one is permitted to enter or leave the building. Children are kept inside the school and class-rooms. Just as we prepare our children to properly respond to a fire drill, they also need to be aware of the proper response during a lockdown drill. We will be talking to the children about the proce-dure prior to the drill and it will be carried out in the same way as we prepare for a fire drill.

Please remember that the likelihood of the school needing to evacuate or lock down is a rare one. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact either myself, Mr Le Conte or Mr Frost.

Mrs Barton