Milestone Academy Newsletter

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

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

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

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

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

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