Milestone Academy Newsletter

December 2022 - Term 2

Principal's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the end of Term 2 the feeling in the school is the most festive it has been since before the pandemic. We have had the stage set up for the Phase 1 nativity for the first time in three years, we are having the pantomime visit the children and have had a school Christmas disco kindly organised by The Friends of Milestone. We have been able to put on festive and seasonal events that we have not been able to do for a long time.

The Friends of Milestone continue to support us and raise money to enhance the things that we can offer our pupils. The Christmas Wrap and disco will have raised much needed funds and we encourage you to support future events. If you would like to join The Friends please do contact the school and we will put you in touch with the chair of the group. New members are very much needed. This term and next we are developing libraries in our satellite provisions and The Friends are funding the new books and furniture that is needed. We are very excited as we continue to develop our reading provision across all sites so that all students have access to the best books and literature that we can source.

You may have noticed that on our website each class now has a page where teachers are uploading pictures during the Term of the things that students have been doing. If you cannot access the website we will also be sharing these images and updates in our newsletters.

This Term Milestone students entered The Leigh Academies Trust Christmas card competition. This is a highly prestigious event involving the thirty Academies across the Trust. Out of these 30 Academies there are two winners. This year we are delighted to announce that Flamingoes class was one of them! We are so proud of the children in this class and hope you enjoy the picture they entered as much as we do.

It remains for me to wish you, on behalf of all the staff and students, a safe and merry festive season and a Happy New Year!

Sarah Goosani - Principal

Message from the Governors

It’s been a while since governors offered parents a short update on the work that we’ve been doing behind the scenes at Milestone. Since the last update, we have said goodbye to some governors and welcomed a few new governors to the Board. We’ve therefore been taking a little time to reflect on the school, how it operates, and to look at all the hard work that senior leaders, staff and pupils are undertaking every day, with a view to seeing how best governors can support all of that. In the New Year, governors will be conducting two ‘immersion' days - one on the main site and one across our satellites - where we hope to really get into life at school, and see what learning looks like for our pupils. We’re hoping that the dates for these immersion days will coincide with dates when parents are also due to be in school for existing events, so we hope that we may be able to speak with some of you too. In the mean time, we wish you and your families a lovely festive season.

Phase 1

This term has been a busy term for Phase One with our Theme - How We Express Ourselves. All classes have been looking at special times of year, through experiencing the wonders of autumn and celebrations within different cultures and faiths. All children have been making the most of learning in the outside environment within the Academy and beyond in the local community. Most classes have been off-site experiencing Christmas traditions, various physical environments and local shops to taste the delicacies. Unfortunately we had to cancel the Nativity but will be showcasing this to families in the New Year. We would all like to wish you a pleasant break however you celebrate this holiday season.

Stepping Stones have had fun exploring our theme ‘A Special time of the Year’. We have been reading the stories ‘Sparks in the Sky’, ‘Kipper’s Toybox’ and ‘Home for Christmas’. We did some printing to make firework pictures and make some edible sparklers. We explored the Winter happyland tray and made some Christmas salt dough decorations. We also sang the song ‘Five Christmas Puddings’ using the props.

Koala class have had an extremely busy term! They enjoyed the story the Kippers Toybox and learning about all of his different toys. We have also had lots of fun taking part in lots of Festive activities in the lead up to Christmas, including our Christmas party! We hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Penguin Class has had a busy second term! The students have all worked really hard towards their environmental control technology targets this term. The Penguins have enjoyed visits to the interactive room and have really benefited from using our class iPads, they have been learning to activate switches to cause an effect and repeat this action to receive more of the effect! The pupils physical targets have of course been a big focus this term too with the continuation of weekly rebound and aqualearn sessions where the student's confidence as well as strength is continuing to grow! A special shout out to one of the Penguins who took her first independent steps this term! We are all so proud - well done! With Christmas around the corner, the Penguin students have been getting into the festive spirit with crafts and sensory winter themed activities. Myself and the Penguin team would like to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy Christmas and New Year!

Bear Class have had a busy fun filled term. We have started exploring our local community this term, visiting the shops, library and cafe in small groups. Pupils have been able to take their own shopping lists and mark items off with an adult. As a class we have really enjoyed our specialist teaching lessons of Drama and preparing for our Christmas production. We have enjoyed making different crafts and participating in the pantomime, soft play Christmas trip and clubs with new friends on a Friday afternoon. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Flamingo Class have had a fun and busy term working on our theme “A special time of year”, it is always exciting when there is glitter and sparkles everywhere. We have also been doing some fantastic target work where we are learning to take turns and match pictures and patterns among other things. We have seen some lovely friendships form and confidence being built on! Wishing you all a lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Leopard Class have had a fantastic term 2. We have continued to build positive relationships with our peers and staff as well as working hard on developing our self help and independence skills. We have continued to make progress with our Maths and Read Write Inc skills and have enjoyed our topic 'A special time of year'. The past few weeks we have enjoyed lots of festive activities including our Christmas trip to the pantomime!

Lion Class have been extremely busy working hard on our individual learning plans and rehearsing for our Phase One production. In Science we have explored hot and cold, the day we explored cold was perfect, we had to find the clothes that we needed to keep us warm. Our Horticulture teacher has helped us look at the different seasons and we enjoyed seeing all of the autumnal coloured leaves as they fell. We also accessed the local supermarket for community participation and we enjoyed a biscuit in the cafe. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Lion class.

Tiger Class have really enjoyed learning about different celebrations this term. We started our term looking at Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day and Diwali. We enjoyed making our own poppy wreath, exploring mandalas with different sensory materials and pretending to toast marshmallows on a bonfire made from tissue paper! Later in the term, we have been learning about Bodhi Day, Winter Solstice and Hanukkah, through a carousel of activities. Finally, we have been learning about the Nativity story and enjoying Christmas activities! Have a lovely Christmas break!

Giraffe Class children have been participating in the NSPCC Speak out Stay safe programme. They have all been enjoying weekly Beaming Stars sessions with a specialist teacher and all children received a class certificate for their enthusiasm and hard work. We have also been using the new library. The children love to look at the new books and listen to the adults read to them.

Phase 1 Performance

Phase 1 were delighted to be able to put on their Christmas production of The Sleepy Shepherd (despite having to rearrange due to the snow!) Everyone worked so hard to put together our first performance since before the pandemic and it was just wonderful to see the students on stage! A huge thank you to everyone who helped get the show together.

Claire Woolmer - Phase 1 Director

Phase 2

In Module 3 our topic is ‘Where we are in Place and Time’ with a focus on ‘Tribes and Temples’. The central idea for all pathways is ‘People belong to different communities and have different beliefs and practices’. Pupils following the River and Waterfall pathway will be finding answers to some of our lines of inquiry such as ‘Where do different recipes originate from?’, ‘How do Aztec homes compare with our homes today?’ and ‘How do different communities celebrate key events?’

History: World History: Aztecs

Religion: Buddhist New Year/Chinese New Year

Science: Rocks

PSPD: Relationships, Changing and Growing - Time management

RSE: Brook -Sharing spaces, Stream, River, Waterfall - Being safe.

All: Preparation for puberty and personal care

Art: Sculptures - Alexander Calder

Cooking and nutrition: Influences from around the world

Computing: Internet research and coding

PE: Rotated athletics, competitive games, swimming and agility, balance and coordination (gymnastics), dance and adventurous activity

Languages: SignAlong

Canyon class has shaken, rattled and rolled through Module 2! We have been exploring a range of musical instruments in our music sessions, following along to a rhythm and identifying sounds. In our cooking and nutrition lessons we have made and gobbled up some delicious seasonal recipes including pumpkin muffins, apple crumble, gingerbread men and Christmas sausage rolls. In RE, we have been learning about Hanukkah and Christmas where we have created some Hanukkah menorah candles and Christmas crafts to display in class. We also created some poppy crafts for the display in remembrance of the war.

In science we have been learning about sound and creating our own ‘sound instruments’ from shakers to guitars and in history we have been looking at old clothes and comparing them to ours! We’ve had a lot of fun going on the bus to Fairfield swimming pool each week. Canyons have also been lucky and had 2 birthday parties in class this term!

Mountain class have also explored the celebrations of Hanukah and Diwali. Pupils worked on their individual targets during community participation by walking into New Ash Green Village and buying ingredients for a cooking session and most importantly, replenishing our snack cupboard.

Dartford Festival of Light 2022

Milestone Academy was proud to join the Dartford Festival of Light this year. Several classes attended a lantern workshop delivered by an award-winning arts company; SameSky. Students were supported to make and decorate lanterns from scratch using tape, tissue paper, sticks and lots of glue!

Students, families and staff joined many other local primary schools to parade their lanterns through Dartford high street, finishing with a spectacular fireworks display at Central Park.

Orchard class have loved exploring Shake, rattle and roll this term through a wide variety of different learning opportunities. In art, we have investigated different ways of creating artwork without using a paintbrush, focusing on art by Dale Chihuly. We have designed and created our own instruments and explored sound and music within science and history. Orchard class have enjoyed finding out about and comparing fashion, music, toys and even looking at family photos from the 50s and 60s and now. In cooking, we have created some delicious seasonal recipes, where the students have also worked on their turn taking skills and focused on communicating with each other to follow the step by step process. Orchard class have become more confident in logging in and completing a variety of sequencing skills on their chromebooks in ICT. In RE this term, we have learnt about Hanukkah and christmas, and we have tried traditional foods from both of these celebrations. We are continuing to enjoy read write inc phonics and the students are becoming more confident when recognising the sounds and blending sounds to read words.

Forest Class have explored art through movement and action focusing on the artist Dale Chihuly, including bubble painting and ‘flicking’ paint to create a variety of pictures. During History we have been learning about the 50s and 60s, with a focus on comparing differences between then and now including music and fashion. We have followed instructions to create our own colourful clothes to represent those worn during the 50s and 60s, and enjoyed dancing to rock and roll music! During cooking we have learnt a variety of processes such as measuring, mixing and folding to create seasonal dishes such as gingerbread trees, pumpkin muffins and sausage rolls. During these sessions we have focused on following instructions and sharing resources with our friends. Forest class have attended beaming stars gymnastic sessions this term, where we have improved our balance and coordination skills whilst completing a variety of circuits. Forest class have had the opportunity to access the local community this term, with a focus on transitioning safely from the bus to the park, and interacting with our friends in a park environment. We have been using our communication aids to consolidate the social skills we are learning in class to the community, and have thoroughly enjoyed these sessions!

Woodland class have loved listening to different styles of music from the 1920s to current day. Alongside this the class have explored each era in time through their senses during our sensory story where we have time travelled through the 1920s, 1940s, 1960s, 1990s and current day. During the story the class used a range of switches and sensory props to smell, taste and feel objects relevant to the periods of time as well as exploring music and instruments. Our sensory story also feeds into this topic. Within our sensory carousel we have explored one moment in time per week. An example of this work is, making prohibition fruit cocktails, pineapple cake, exploring father boas and painting art deco style.

Coast class have explored different instruments and made our own using sensory materials such as pasta and rice. In Art we have focused on Dale Chihuly and his explosive art work. During these sessions we focused on our motor skill targets to disperse the paint in different ways. During cooking and nutrition we have made lots of seasonal recipes. Our favourite was the caramel and apple cinnamon buns, we used our motor skills to knead the dough and explored our taste and smell senses with the fragrant flavours. We have worked hard on our PSWEB targets and working with peers. We have been sharing topic sessions with neighbouring classes to work on our targets and experience different social interactions. We have loved accessing the newly stocked and decorated interactive room and have been able to explore new sensory resources.

Glacier Class has thoroughly enjoyed Term 2! We have focused on the topic ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll!’ We have explored a variety of seasonal foods throughout the cooking sessions, including gingerbread men and brownies!

We have also enjoyed sensory stories, exploring different textures and smells as we head into Christmas. We’ve had lots of cinnamon smells, tinsel and presents to explore! We have also had a wide range of sensory art activities, stocking’s that we decorated and creating our own snowmen!

We have also celebrated finishing term 2 by taking the students to soft play for our Christmas trip. The students really enjoyed this and shaked their way towards the end of term!

Michelle Hilton - Phase 2 Director

Milestone @ Dartford Primary Academy

Nova class has been exploring the 1950s and 1960s through music, children’s television programmes and transport, for our Topic ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll.’ We have explored the changes in music and television shows and have looked at how different modern days cars look. We have discussed the safety improvements to today’s cars too. We have learnt about how we hear sound, the way our ears work and methods and technologies used by Deaf people to help them communicate and express themselves, including learning some sign language. In RE, we have been looking at how different festivals are celebrated, such as Hanukkah and Christmas. We have been working hard during our Phonics sessions and have been practising our addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills in Maths, using lots of practical resources. Nova class have enjoyed Forest School sessions this term and have been expressing ourselves through woodland crafts and games. We have been risk takers; using tools, climbing trees and roasting marshmallows on campfires.

Comet class have enjoyed learning about sound and how we hear, making a model of the ear out of playdoh. The students also made musical instruments to support their understanding of sound. The students have been working hard during their phonics sessions learning new sounds and working on our addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills in Maths. Comet class have also enjoyed our swimming lessons at Fairfield Pool this term and are becoming more confident in and around the water. During Cooking sessions the children have been learning to make seasonal recipes. The children have been practising their cutting, grating and baking skills during these sessions.

Moonbeam students enjoyed making a range of musical instruments to allow them to see how sound works through vibrations. In History, the students have been exploring music from the 1950s and 1960s, they voted on which music they liked best and staff supported with the students recognising why. In cooking, the children have made a range of seasonal recipes, practising their weighing and cutting skills. Moonbeam also enjoyed an amazing trip to visit Santa at Hawley Garden Centre, the students were all fantastic and were great ambassadors for the school.

Despite the snow on Monday and Tuesday, Milestone@DPA were able to go ahead with their festive activity session on Wednesday morning. The students all enjoyed having the opportunity to make a range of festive crafts with their families.

Faye Mendez - Interim Satellite Director

Phase 3

Phase 3 has had a busy productive term. We have been learning about ‘Communication through time’. Classes have been learning how past societies communicated and broadcasted the news about significant events. Events studied have been ‘The Gunpowder Plot, Great fire of London, World War 1 and World War 2’. The fire brigade visited mainsite to discuss fire safety, students were made aware of how lucky we are to have this service. To get in the festive spirit, the phase attended a pantomime, paraded the phase in our Christmas jumpers and have planned a whole phase Christmas Buffet. Phase 3 also supported the ‘Festive Reading Brunch’ by making and selling Christmas biscuits. They raised £32.29 for ‘Friends of Milestone’.

Happy Holidays from the Phase 3 Team

Aztec Class have been focusing on the trans-disciplinary theme 'How We Express Ourselves' with the central idea being 'Communication through time.' Students have been learning about the past and specifically how we know about British Events of the 1600's. How did this news travel and was it reliable? Students then spent time comparing how modern day technology communicates the news. In our English lessons, the class have been looking at 'The Magic Finger!' by Roald Dahl. The students completed some character exploration asking lots of different questions. We have been learning what it means to multiply and how this relates to repeated addition. Some of us used Numicon to help us and some of us used the bus stop method to calculate the product of two digit numbers and a one digit number.

Sparta class has been looking into means of communication and how they have changed overtime. We began the term looking at the gunpowder plot and how a letter sent from one of the plotters caused Guy Fawkes to get caught. The students came up with their own research questions and went to the library to find out the answers. Sparta class then looked at the great fire of London and how historians were informed of the events that occurred through the diary of Samuel Pepys. Sparta class students have also done some research about what it was like to be a soldier in World War One and how they communicated with their families. Students compared how the war was advertised to them through the media to how it actually was. Each pupil then imagined what it was like to have been on the front line and wrote a letter home to their families. In English we have been continuing to read our book 'Wonder' by R.J Palacio and began our phonics sessions using Read Write Inc. In maths we have been looking at 'money' during our recall activities in the morning and 'addition/ subtraction' in our maths lessons. The students have really enjoyed using the coins, dienes, numicon and double sided counters to support their learning. Sparta class has also had swimming each Tuesday and horticulture sessions each Wednesday. During horticulture the students have been learning how to complete different jobs in the garden including weeding, preparing the soil and general maintenance.

Tudor class has had an exciting term; we have been exploring the sensory garden and looking at the different tools within the polytunnel as part of our horticulture. In maths, we have been treasure hunting using magnets and coins to identify a number on the coin and match the coin on the worksheet. Tudor class also had a visit from the Fire Brigade and had the opportunity to explore various equipment they use. We have had three sensory stories this term focusing on our emotions and communication. Beegu was the first one which focused on a little alien who landed on earth, and she couldn’t be understood by anyone, then there was Augustus who lost his smile, he is a tiger who went on the hunt through the jungle to find his smile and moving towards Christmas we have the polar express, which takes you on a journey through phase 3 visiting different parts of the film. It has been a fun, exciting term for Tudor class, and I would like to Wish all the students and families a very Happy Christmas and look forward to the New Year.

Nicola and the Tudor Team. Pictures

Viking class have been exploring the theme 'How we express ourselves' linking to 'Communication through time'. We have explored and researched the following events in history: Guy Fawkes, The Great Fire of London and World War One, as part of our IB inquiry and history curriculum. Exploring how news was presented and if it were reliable or not. We have explored communication through history and linked this to modern day society and the ways in which we communicate with each other and how we can portray ourselves through the use of technology. Viking Class have also worked on their cooking skills this term, using fresh produce that links with the different celebrations like Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas including Pumpkin Pie and shortbread biscuits. In Maths, Viking class have been practising their timetables and working on their multiplication and division skills with some code breaking exercises. In Performing Arts they are continuing to work on their Performance practising their acting and directing skills working with other students across the phase.

Saxon Class have enjoyed exploring the topic of ‘Communication through time’ this term and we have been linking this to our emotions. Our sensory story this term 'Augustus and his smile' has helped Saxon students to explore & communicate their feelings through music, sensory tactile items and visuals. Saxon class have been using their individual communication systems to indicate what they would like to play during turn taking & sharing activities. Towards the end of this term Saxon Class have had fun completing Christmas craft activities, watching the Scrooge pantomime, learning Christmas songs & singing/signing along to these and all of the pupils are in Christmas spirit which is fantastic! Great work Saxon Class and Merry Christmas to all!

Roman Class have been busy making a sensory winter corner in their classroom - and the students have enjoyed exploring all the different materials that we have there as well as laying back on the soft blankets and watching all the lights. Lights are also a major part of our Friday afternoon spa time. The lights go off, and the sensory lights come on. Spa music is in the background, creams and brushes come out, and our students' feet go in the bubbly spas. It is a day enjoyed by everyone and hopefully something that parents can come to during Term 3 to experience too - I shall hopefully send information out during Term 3.

Renaissance class have been busy this term learning about our transdisciplinary theme -Communication Through Time. We are learning about key events from the 17th Century for example the Great Fire of London and discussing how the news was communicated to the people of London at the time and how this compared to how news is communicated nowadays. We had a visit from the local fire brigade, pupils had a talk about fire safety in class and were able to explore and see the fire engine and it's hose.

Jurassic class has been very busy this term! Our PYP focus has been on how we express ourselves and we have taken this into all areas of our learning. We begun the term thinking about Remembrance Day and observed a silence in class, along with creating some super poppy art. In our English lessons we have been enjoying the sensory story of Beegu, an alien who finds herself lost on Earth and unable to communicate with the world around her. Jurassic class was great at considering how she was feeling at key points of her story. A fire engine came into school and we were shown how different parts work and discussed how the Fire Brigade is a part of our emergency services. Of course the run up to Christmas is always very exciting and we have created our own countdowns to Christmas; been creative with Christmas cards and much more!

Kyle Marsh - Phase 3 Director

Milestone @ The Leigh Academy

What a wonderful moment! The end of term is a good time to pause and feel a sense of pride in what has been accomplished as we reflect on all that has taken place. I invite the whole M@L community to share in the feeling of great achievement, not only for reaching the end of the term, but for recognising that the commitment to teaching and learning continues to flourish. None of this would have been possible without the genuine dedication of all staff, the enthusiasm and resilience of the students and the understanding and support of so many parents and carers. The Red Cross came to visit and students engaged well in a workshop on Youth Coping with Challenges. Students were great at considering the individuals and groups of people in their own local communities who are available to support them when necessary. They were also introspective at considering their own levels of resilience and the skills they have to overcome challenges.

Anning class have been incredibly busy. In English, we have enjoyed reading ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class' by Onjali Q. Raúf. The students have been enjoying this book - a story of friendship, hope and the importance of kindness. We focused on the skills of prediction and inference. In Maths, we have been working on the students' understanding of place value, addition, subtraction and multiplication. Our students have been encouraged to make sense of mathematics by using manipulatives to support their thinking. As part of our Learning Journey, we have been learning about different countries and cultures. We explored the way artists responded to the Second World War, using their art as a way of expressing the difficult emotions they felt and to make sense of the changes to the world around them. The students have been happy and aspirational about their learning and we have been impressed with their own knowledge and understanding.

Turing class have really settled into the school year and have worked well as a team earning their first class reward trip. Students pooled their individual reward points together so that they could all enjoy a trip out for Bowling in Bexleyheath. They had a great time celebrating all their hard work to date. They were all able to independently use their money to select and purchase food from the café and were extremely well engaged with the staff on site. We have begun reading R.J. Palaccio's book, Wonder, as a class read. Students are enjoying the story of a young boy who just doesn't fit in well due to his differences. Students are having articulate and thoughtful discussions about why he is treated differently and how this will then impact his feelings and actions. As the book progresses and we start to hear the story from other people's points of view, students are able to make connections across the story and understand how different people react differently to the same incident.

Equiano class have been exploring the central idea "Our expression of ourselves can be appreciated and enjoyed by others." We started by thinking about how and why we might express ourselves and responding to art from around the world as well as considering what might influence the way we express ourselves. We were particularly interested in Banksy's newest work in Ukraine and our inquiry led us to discussions about protest and how our self expression can be used to change the world around us. We created our own Banksy-inspired art and in our computing lessons have been working on creating short films about something that is important to us. In addition to this, we've been working on our community skills by planning and buying presents for our friends and families. We also practised and made phonecalls to bowling alleys to find the best deal for our end of term bowling trip!

Merry Christmas to you all and I wish you a wonderful and Happy New Year.

Sofia Pinto

Satellite Director - Milestone@The Leigh

Phase 4

Phase 4 have had a fantastic term full of personalised and functional learning opportunities. Term 2 is often an exciting term with festive events and co-curricular opportunities to extend and generalise learning. As we depart for the festive period all that is left to say is a huge thank you for all your support across the year and to wish our families a wonderful Christmas and start to your New Year in whatever way you celebrate.

Dover class have had a productive term working on our ‘Christmas mini-enterprise’ project where we have been making different christmas crafts to sell as part of our ASDAN accreditation. This has included candle holders, baubles, hot chocolate stirrers and Christmas cards, which have all turned out fantastically. We have also enjoyed our weekly walks to the local shop where we have been purchasing ingredients to make different christmas treats during cooking lessons that can be used at the Festive afternoon tea at the end of term. In English the class enjoyed the story ‘Rock and Roll Mole” which is all about ‘Expressing yourself’ as part of this term's theme and enjoyed spending time in the refurbished school library. Dover have also been taking part in the NSPCC’s ‘Speak out, Stay Safe’ lessons, where we have been learning about staying safe and appropriate behaviour in different scenarios.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Eynsford class has had a very busy Term 2 and have enjoyed learning about and joining in with our theme this term of ‘Express Yourselves’. Students have enjoyed exploring sensory stories and have been linking their learning against their ASDAN accreditation, and have been using the interactive whiteboard and technology to comment and follow stories. Eynsford class have also engaged well with ‘Speak out and Stay Safe’ lessons provided by the NSPCC, students have been learning about their bodies and how to keep themselves safe. The whole Eynsford team would like to thank you for your continued support this term, and wish our wonderful students and families health and happiness for the Festive period.

Scotney class have all been hard at work. We have especially enjoyed our lovely refurbished library space. We are working on our ASDAN qualification “Developing Reading Skills”. This has been evidenced through following symbolic texts, commenting on stories and making choices of books, sensory stories and other reading material. We have also made trips to the supermarket to buy supplies for our Food and Nutrition lessons. The students are following a symbolic shopping list to select the products we need. We have had a lot of fun cooking up recipes following the theme “Celebrate Good Times”. All of us in Scotney class would like to wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year!

Canterbury class have really enjoyed their weekly visits to Bore place farm this term. During our visits, we have been helping to plant meadow seeds, made bird food and fed the birds with it, planted some rhubarb, visited the cows and calves and made Christmas wreaths to take home to our families. We have also been very busy making Christmas items during our ASDAN enterprise project lessons. We have made tree decorations, hot chocolate reindeers and snowmen, cards and Christmas cakes! Look out for their creations coming home to you soon!! Canterbury class have also participated well in the ‘Speak out and Stay Safe’ lessons provided by the NSPCC. We have been learning about how to keep safe, our bodies and appropriate behaviours for different situations. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

Leeds class have had a very busy term exploring the sensory props from our many Christmas stories. Our students have been working on the ‘Speak out and Stay Safe’ lessons where they have been learning to work together and appreciating peers' personal spaces. It has been amazing to see how relationships have been built on and made within the class team. Our ASDAN module has been “Getting on with other people” so this has interlinked with this too. Our students have spent a lot of time in class this term and have been having fun exploring the many sensory sessions with very messy props. Sensory science and a foot spa are one of the favourites which also links to the ASDAN -Technology module. We had lots of fun at the PMLD Christmas event which was amazing for our young people. On behalf of Leeds team and myself we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Noleen Donaghy-Parkhouse - Phase 4 Leader

Milestone @ Wilmington Academy

All of the pupils at M@W have had an amazing Term 2 - the students have continued to work hard and this term we saw a large amount of pupils sitting their mock exams. We as staff were so impressed with the hard work and concentration that went into those.

Upnor class have been working hard on their maths and English, with our new timetable fully in place now and everyone is working so hard. Students are becoming fantastic chefs, running our daily cafe and their customer skills are also improving. We are all looking forward to our departmental trip at the end of term where we are off to the panto, as a "well done" to all the students for their hard work this term. I want you wish you all a wonderful Christmas and I'm looking forward to seeing what Term 3 brings for us all at Wilmington.

Hever class has started a course with the Bluewater Learning Shop, they have been learning about employability, interview skills, and how to behave in the workplace. We have learned about appropriate workplace conduct and making a good first impression. Hever also had a talk with Doug Skinner from Greenpeace on how we can take action against climate change. As a result of that, Hever is leading an initiative at Milestone @Wilmington for us to reduce, reuse and recycle more. Our students see themselves as global citizens with a responsibility towards our planet.

Hever class has also sat mock examinations in functional skills maths and English, their resilience and attitude to learning is exemplary. Our Arts Award students attended a workshop at the Apple store to learn how to use procreate on an iPad. The students designed characters from the Snoopy and Charlie Brown universe, they were fantastic and many are destined for careers in the arts for sure.

Rochester class had the opportunity to access the learning shop in Bluewater where they spent the morning learning about different job sectors, as well as behaviours that were classed as misconduct and gross misconduct, and a tour of Bluewater learning about the meanings of the different architecture. Rochester class also learnt about the importance of first impressions.

Nicky McCarthy - Satellite Director

Remembrance Artwork

Here is a selection of amazing artwork created by the very talented students in the M@W Arts Award Group for Remembrance Day in November.

PE News

Students at Milestone @ Leigh have been conducting an inquiry into the effects of exercise on the body. Students investigated what we can do to keep healthy and the benefits of exercise during their Science lessons and were taught how to measure their pulse rate. This was then applied to their PE lessons where they investigated how they felt before and after exercise. Students at main site will be working on similar activities in term 3 and will be investigating different components of fitness, how the cardiovascular system works and how exercise effects us physically.

Big well done to Aiden, Daisy, Sean and Millie from Phase 3 and Charlie, Logan, Amy and Tianna who represented us at the LAT Swimming Gala at Sir Joseph Williamson Mathematical School in Rochester this term.

Have a great Christmas break!

Steve Devereux - Head of PE

Horticulture News

It is definitely getting colder now! We have been braving the weather & continuing to maintain the garden & plant more vegetables. A new development is composting. We now have 2 compost bins and will be learning about what can go in a compost bin and taking responsibility for emptying the food waste and adding items such as cardboard and newspaper to make great compost. The horticulture groups have been working on continuing to develop their skills in planting and weeding in year 1, and learning about soil and compost in year 2. We have lots of beetroot and the students enjoyed trying radish.

Sparta class upcycled some Djembes and Aztec enjoyed leaf collecting for the leaf mould bin. Romans have been working on their communication skills and Tudor have enjoyed exploring the garden area and working on their Maths skills. We have also planted daffodil bulbs.

Kirsty Wiseman - Horticulture Teacher

Mother Christmas and her Donkeys!

The 'Friends of Milestone’ very generously funded a visit to the Main site from ‘Mother Christmas and her Donkeys’. All the students and the staff were excited to meet them and had a really enjoyable time.

Maria Steer - Phase 3 Leader

NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe

We were delighted this term for students across the school to be able to access the NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe programme. This is a specialist programme to support students in understanding their emotions, as well as knowing who to talk to if they feel anxious or worried. It’s been fantastic to see all students engaging so well with this programme and for embracing their new friend Buddy!

Sarah Holliday - Phase 1 Leader

Festive Reading Brunch!

On Tuesday 6th December, Parents and Carers were invited to join their children at a Festive themed Reading Brunch in our event teepees. It was a fantastic opportunity for Parents, Carers and staff to share stories with the children, with all of them excited and engaged. Helen Warren, one of our governors, performed a Christmas signing story and Tim Sibson a festive sensory story. The children and adults really enjoyed the performances and were able to experience lots of different textures and Christmas scents such as pine and cinnamon sticks. Phase 3 baked some reindeer shortbread and managed to raise £33 worth of donations for The Friends of Milestone. It was a really successful event and we look forward to running another one in the Easter term.

Catherine McHugh-Moss - English Subject Leader

Friends of Milestone

Hello from The Friends of Milestone.

Since our last Newsletter contribution, we have held our Christmas disco, the night was a

great night and all students that attended seemed to have a great time! Unfortunately, the

weather delayed our Christmas Wrap but we rescheduled to Monday 19th December . We will be arranging our next meeting in the New Year and it would be lovely to see some new faces as well those who have already offered their support to the Friends.

If you would like to join the Friends committee or find out more about us and what we do for the school then please email friendsofmilestoneacademy@gmail.com or you can find us on Facebook (we have the logo as the profile picture if you wish to find us).

We look forward to providing more events in the New Year.

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and once again, thank you all for your continued support.

Faye Warman – Chair

Sarah Spiers – Co-Chair and Treasurer

Lyn French – Secretary

Friends of Milestone

Doctor Visit!

Students in Phase 3 enjoyed a visit from a Trauma Consultant who facilitated a Q&A session. Dr Chris Pickering is a specialist in emergency medicine and appears in a television documentary called Critical Condition on Channel 5. Students were able to watch a clip of him in action on the documentary before asking him about his journey in to medicine and his experiences at work and through COVID. Students found the visit very interesting.

Medical and Therapy Team News

We are delighted to welcome back the Find a Voice Library to Milestone. This service is able to loan sensory and switch-adapted toys, switches, Makaton resources and communication aids free of charge to families, schools and professionals. The children enjoyed exploring some new toys.

Find a Voice will visit the school for one morning a term. Staff and families are invited to come along to borrow resources. At the end of term, resources are collected in and returned.

Find a Voice will be in school 11.00am-12.30pm on 12th January, 2nd March, 27th April and 15th June in TRAC 3.

For further information contact:

Ruth Coenen, speech & language therapist or Timothy Sibson, speech & language therapy assistant via the Therapy Team

Find a Voice on 01233 640443 or speak@findavoice.org.uk

It was great to meet families during the Phase 1 Coffee Morning. The focus of the session was on supporting language and communication development through play. We reminded ourselves of the importance of play and had fun playing and exploring toys. We also discussed the importance of play during physio programmes and when using specialist equipment.

Reading Brunch

Tim had great fun sharing "Are you an Elf?" as a sensory story with the children and families at the reading brunches. The children looked in the mirror to see if they look like an Elf. Then they pulled items from the Christmas box (floppy hats, bells, candy canes, pointy ears, etc) explored them and tried them on. At the end of the story, the children looked in the mirror again and realised they looked a lot more Elf like than before. The story is fun and engaging. It’s a great opportunity to explore Christmas items, learn new words and have fun together. Send in your elf photos if you try this at home!

Signing Club

The Phase 3 & 4 signing club has returned! The club is a leisure activity that students choose to come along to. It isn't a lesson and it takes place during lunch break on Mondays. Students have chosen to learn to sign to songs like ‘Shake it Off " by Taylor Swift, Olly Murs and Moana songs. At the moment we are of course enjoying ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’, ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ and ‘Silent Night’. Signing club will continue into Term 3.

Medical Team News

We welcome Kaleigh to the Milestone Medical Team. Kaleigh has joined Sue, Emma and Georgina as another Health Care Assistant who supports children’s medical needs in school.

All medication will be sent home at the end of term. If your child will not be in school for the end of term, please contact us to arrange collection. Remember to make sure ALL medication with the appropriate documentation (written consent, FP10, labelling) is correct and comes into school with your child on the first day of term. Medication must be in date, with the correct prescription, sealed and unopened (with the exception of Buccal and Ventolin). Children who require emergency medication are not able to be in school without their medication.

If your child has been absent from school for a while due to medical reasons (e.g. ill health, hospitalisation, surgery), they will need a return to school meeting before they are able to return. In order to help us prepare for your child’s return, please contact your child’s class teacher or Assistant Principal to arrange this. We will work with you to arrange a date that is convenient to you and will arrange for the appropriate staff to be there.

We are planning for a nurse to be available at some events when families are in school. We hope this will provide an opportunity to meet the nurses and ask any health questions.

Clinic Dates for Term 3

Dietitian Clinic: 18/01, 24/01

Paediatrician Clinic: 11/01, 25/01, 8/02, 22/02

Continence Clinic: 09/01, 06/02, 06/03

HPV Vaccinations: 20/01

Contact Details

The Milestone Medical Team: pupilhealthplans@milestoneacademy.org.uk. Health updates must be shared directly with the school and it is best to use this email

Kent Community Health NHS Trust Special School Nursing Service: kentchft.milestone.schoolnurse@nhs.net

From Liz Skilton, on behalf of the Medical Team

Useful Websites

Useful websites with information and resources for schools and parents to support toileting are:

ERIC at www.eric.org.uk

Bladder and Bowel UK www.bbuk.org.uk

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Also look at the Facebook page for Kent Community Health as they also have information of sessions offered for parents on various topics.

Post-16 Home School Transport

A reminder that if your child is entering our post-16 provision next year (ie they are starting Year 12), and you currently receive free home-school transport, you will need to re-apply for this service. This can be done online:

Free school transport - Kent County Council

Kent County Council will also ask you to consider whether independent travel training will be appropriate for your student. Asking this is a standard KCC policy, and all families are asked the same questions. We appreciate that for most - if not all - of our students this will not be practical but want to make you aware that KCC will explore this option with you, as per their 16+ Transport Policy.

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