Milestone Academy Newsletter

April 2023 - Term 4

Principal's Welcome


Dear Parents and Carers, at the time of writing this the rain is pouring down and we are all hoping for a little more warmth and sunshine! Hopefully this newsletter will bring some joy with all the lovely news about the exciting things your children have been doing this Term.

Students across all Phases have been engaged with a range of activities that have been enriching and fun. We have had St Georges Day activities for some of our Phase 2 classes, where children have taken part in workshops to create flags for the Gravesend St Georges Day Parade. Hopefully we will be able to send some representatives along to this!

Our group of our Secondary students went along to the celebration of the Commonwealth at Westminster Abbey, a truly wonderful experience for all those who attended. Our Leigh students performed Romeo and Juliette at the Woodville Halls and brought the house down with their polished and entertaining performance.

We have hosted a reading brunch in the library and collected and distributed pre-loved books to further enhance students' love of reading. Our library continues to be a focus for many of our classes providing a quiet sanctuary to curl up with a book or just relax and be still.

We have listened to our parents who have requested that in addition to our events for parents that are held during the day we also put on events after school so that working parents can attend. We have been thinking about this and planning some activities for the summer so....watch this space!

It remains for me to wish you all a peaceful break with your families, we will all be looking forward to seeing you return in April.


Sarah Goosani - Principal

Phase 1


Stepping Stones Stepping Stones have had fun exploring our theme ‘Let's go on an adventure’. We have been reading the stories ‘We're Going on a Bear Hunt’ and ‘The Gruffalo’. We explored the bear hunt story during an outside sensory bear hunt trail. We explored the mud, snow, river, cave and forest in order to find the bear. During our cooking activities we made a Gruffalo footprint, bear rice cakes and went on a teddy bears picnic. In Write Dance we explored the song 'Bear went over the mountain' and made marks using our hands on a bubble wrap and paint surface as well as with crayons and chalks.



Koala Class This Term, our PYP transdisciplinary theme this term is 'How the World Works' and our central theme is 'Let's go on an Adventure'. We have begun this term by looking at the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt.' We have had lots of fun listening to the story and acting it out. We have used sensory bottles and different resources to create the various areas that the characters visited in the book. We have also been around the world to find out about other countries and have enjoyed cooking a variety of foods linked to them. 


Penguin Class had a busy term exploring our topic of 'Let's Go on an Adventure!' - our stories this term have been We're Going on a Bear Hunt and The Gruffalo. The students have really enjoyed exploring these classic stories through sensory props and using the resonance board for the beat during We're Going on a Bear Hunt. 

We have also been learning about different countries in our weekly sensory journeys, exploring the animals, foods and weather that might be found in different places around the world. We are very much looking forward to our topic learning next term of 'Food Glorious Food' linking to our theme of 'how we organise ourselves'.

We wish you all a very happy Easter break! 

Lisa and the Penguin Team


Bear Class have had a wonderful term and have loved observing the change in seasons, which has allowed us to engage in a lot more outside learning. Pupils have become aware of the change in weather by independently making choices to put on wellies in the rain or take off their coats when it is warmer. This term we have focused a lot on PSPD and how we can support one another to express and regulate our emotions, wants and needs using Zone's of Regulation and new activities such as new massage and sensory stories. We have also been on a journey each week in Drama to a range of continents, through sensory activities, exploring a range of music and resources in small groups.


Flamingo Class We have enjoyed working on our theme of “Lets go on an adventure” we enjoyed a massage and a sensory story where we went on different adventures, and on a trip around the world! We all had fun dressing up on World Book Day and when we went to the library to pick some pre loved books which have been donated to the school. We would also like to wish our teacher Sarah all the best for the future as she moves on to a new chapter.


Leopard Class We have had a fantastic Term 4!  We have continued to enjoy participating in offsite swimming lessons every Monday to build on our self help, independence and community participation skills. Our Transdisciplinary theme this term has been 'How the world works' We have enjoyed using our senses to travel the world exploring different cultures and experience different environments. We have also made great progress in our Read Write Inc skills and transitioning our decoding and blending to across all subjects.



Lion Class has been exploring the story of “We’re Going on Bear Hunt “.So we linked all our topics to this. We made maps for our journey and in Science we created mud to  support the   understanding of processes and mixing materials. Our English has involved using the resonance board to recreate the story and engage in the repeated refrains 



Tiger Class It has been a very busy Term in Tiger class - we have travelled the world and learnt a lot as we went! In Week 1, we started our own adventures, beginning our community participation sessions. The children have done fantastically and have really enjoyed visiting the local park and going to the shops to choose snacks for their peers! Throughout our journey through the different continents each week, we have learnt a lot about different cultures, environments and foods through our sensory trays, cooking sessions and topic activities. We particularly enjoyed exploring Frida Kahlo in our art sessions, creating our own flower crowns! We have finished the term looking at the Easter story, making Easter crafts and working on our personal and social development. Have a lovely Easter break! 



Giraffe Class This Term in Giraffe Class we have had lots of fun pretending to go on a plane to visit different countries and learning about their culture. In cooking we have enjoyed exploring different foods by touch, smell and taste, we made fruit kebabs, Easter nest cakes and making sandwiches with different fillings. In Maths we have been looking at size comparison (big and small, long and short). In art we have been making mothers day cards and been mixing different colours of paint to see what other colours we can make. We have been working hard this term on our mark making and letter formation, also learning the sounds of the letters s,a,t,m,d and i. We have had great fun in forest school we painted plant pots and planted sunflower seeds, we then explored different vegetables and had  fun exploring the outside area. In music we have been learning loud and quiet and fast and slow and have explored different instruments.




Claire Woolmer - Phase 1 Director 

Phase 2

Pupils have especially enjoyed this term's topic Road Trip. Highlights of the Module four have included M@DPAs holi assembly, exploring our local communities and showcasing the new library during the reading brunch. 


Canyon Class has been busy this Term! We have a new student in Canyon who has settled in so well! We are getting familiar with the PYP approach to learning in our stream pathway and have linked our topic work together for art, DT, ICT, geography, history and RE. We have done this by exploring geographical resources which are old and new (maps, atlases, globes and google earth), we made our own maps and have been out in the community to explore and identify places in the local community. As well as this, we have made our own paper plate worlds using shaving foam, paint and tissue paper and even made our own ‘cement’!

We’ve had success at 2 different parks and a few students have even had extra swim sessions over the last few weeks as there was space! Our library sessions have been so calm and the students are all enjoying looking at books and having books read to them. We have also introduced new sketch books to a few students who have a love for drawing which has been brilliant!



Mountain Class This Term Mountain class enjoyed this Terms topic ‘Road Trip’  by looking at google maps and showing the other students where they live, with one student describing how to get from Asda in Gravesend to his home address using google maps. The students enjoyed making treasure maps using teabags to dis-colour the paper and sticking symbols on to show where the treasure is.  The students have also enjoyed a safari trip looking out for all the different animals and being chased by lions in a jeep, they have also had a bumpy road sensory massage story.  Kymran discovered that her water bottle was heavier than 4 Jenga bricks by using scales. 



Orchard Class has enjoyed this Term’s topic of Road trip and we have spent time exploring the local community. We have learnt about physical and human made features and identified these in our local area during walks with Coast class. We have been learning about directional language and we have created our own maps, as well as exploring google maps to find different physical and human made features. Whilst being on walks in our local area, we have also compared the local architecture to Brutalist architecture which we have been learning about in Art. We have been very creative with designing and making our own Brutalist style buildings, focusing on the shapes and expressions used. Our Holi festival celebration at DPA was a highlight for our students this Term and it was great for Orchard class to communicate and learn with some other less familiar peers. We have continued to enjoy sharing stories and reading books in our new school library this term, and promoting the students’ love of reading. This is also helping the students’ confidence when reading their decodable phonics books too. 



Forest Class have worked hard this Term on all areas of their learning, in particular consolidating the skills we have learnt in class when accessing the community. In maths we have been focusing on number and coin recognition, using coins to pay for our snack in school and at the supermarket. Forest class have worked hard on their communication and interaction skills, using their individual AAC devices to make requests and communicate with their peers during structured activities such as turn taking games, and during our inquiry sessions. Our topic inquiry sessions have given us the opportunity to learn about the local area, identifying key landscapes and features within the local community both in school and New Ash Green. During science we have focused on the process of materials ‘changing’ which has provided us with the opportunity to learn about melting and freezing to change the properties of an object - we thoroughly enjoyed melting chocolate and exploring the difference, and making our own jelly! Forest class are looking forward to attending swimming at Fairfield Leisure Centre next term, where we will be working on our gross motor skills in the pool.  



Woodland class This term in Woodland class the pupils have engaged in a variety of sensory lessons where we have incorporated learning about special people through seasonal celebrations such as mothers day and valentines day. During these lessons the children have explored sensory stimuli based around healthy foods that are eaten during these celebrations. For example during our mothers day lesson we use breakfast in bed as our main resources. The children made toast using a toaster connected switch, from here they felt the warm toast on their hands and feet, smelt and tasted a range of toppings. We left warm and cold tea bags comparing the temperatures, and we also smelt fresh coffee and explored dried coffee beans with our hands. Throughout the lesson the children used Big Macs and Etrams to make choices and ask for more. The pupils were encouraged to show their opinions through relieving hands and feet from sensory resources and showing different emotions through facial expressions. 

Also in our class we have encouraged the children to become more independent when using programmes on the IWB and class Ipads. The class regularly uses the bluetooth switch to stop and start Big Bang pictures and black and white moving images on the large classroom screen. This promotes the use of cause and effect, decision making, hand and eye coordination and visual awareness



Coast Class have really enjoyed our Road Trip topic this Term. We have shared a different adventure each week, travelling to different parts of the world via different transport. We have been to the Arctic, the jungle and a swamp. Our most favourite was the Swamp as it was incredibly sensory and MESSY. During these sessions we focused on our cognition, communication and fine motor skills. We were able to make choices, display emotions, request for more and refine our palmer and pincer grip. During these adventures we also shared peer to peer interactions with our friends in orchard class. We in coast have absolutely loved these interactions and have all formed and maintained bonds with new people and have developed new communication skills which has been incredible. We have been able to work on our PSWEB targets improving our social skills.  We have had an incredible term working on our Gross motor skills with 5 of us beginning to walk independently for the very first time. We have been able to focus on in class physiotherapy which has improved our core skills and confidence. We have all Made incredible progress with our communication skills whilst working along our PSWEB targets. We are able to use a switch button to communicate our needs and or identify a different location we will visit.  Please find our Strands of focus for Term 5 on our website page. 



Glacier Class Through the whole school transdisciplinary theme, ‘How the world works’ Glacier class have been exploring different modes of transport and ‘visiting’ a range of different countries using a multisensory approach. We have also been accessing swimming in the Milestone Aqualearn pool. All the students have really enjoyed it and have been working on their pool safety, moving forwards and backwards in the water and scooping water onto their faces. During our snack time, students in Glacier have been working extra hard on using chatting sheets and PECs to request what they would like to eat independently, with bourbon biscuits and marmite on toast the most popular options! 



St Georges Day

We have had St Georges Day activities for some of our Phase 2 classes, where children have taken part in workshops to create flags for the Gravesend St Georges Day Parade. Hopefully we will be able to send some representatives along to this!



Michelle Hilton - Phase 2 Director 


Milestone @ Dartford Primary Academy


Nova Class Our theme of How the World Works has taken us out of the classroom into our local area for our inquiry based learning during this module.  We have walked to Hesketh Park and Dartford Park, identifying and capturing images of Human and Physical features for Geography.  We have also looked at how and why different materials have been used to create things in these places for Science. We have learnt what happens to our rubbish after we have put it out for the rubbish truck, and why recycling is so important. We have learnt how and why Holi is celebrated and have taken part in our own Holi celebration at school. We have been learning about basic First Aid, people who can help us and how our bodies change as we grow.  We have been learning to identify and use fractions in our Maths lessons and have also been practising our measuring skills, exploring capacity.  We have been learning to share our work via Google Docs and emails and have used Google’s Read&Write app to support our literacy skills.  Our Power of Reading story this module is called ‘How to Find Gold’.  We have been reflecting on the illustrations and narrative in groups and individually, to enhance our understanding of the story.  We have created treasure maps and explained how to use them to find the gold. We have also been attending swimming lessons this module, practising our front and back crawl. 



Comet Class has had a great Term exploring the theme of how the world works. We have been on walks around the area of M@DPA looking at the physical features unique to the area in geography. While in art we have been looking at  different architectural buildings and can recognise examples of Brutalism from their features. We have been looking at recycling in science, what is in our rubbish and what we can recycle and why it is important we do this not only for ourselves but for the whole planet.

In RE at the beginning of the term we learnt about the festival of Holi and invited Orchard class from the main site to join us in celebrating the festival of colour by throwing powder paint - great fun had by all. We are now looking at how and why Christians celebrate Easter and its importance in many other faiths.

In Maths we have been learning about simple fractions and improving our measuring skills.

Our power of reading story this term is ‘How to find gold’ and we have been taken on a mystical journey to find the gold where we have written to and received letters from the characters  along with making maps and our own sea monsters within this journey.



Moonbeam Class have worked hard this Term exploring our theme of How the World Works.  We have enjoyed visiting our local area looking at the physical features and human features that we can identify around us and evaluating the architecture of our local buildings, comparing them with the architecture of Brutalist buildings. We have also used our knowledge of Materials from our learning in Science to help us know which materials would be best to make our building.  We’ve also used this knowledge to test different materials effectiveness for a waterproof boat, then creating and testing our own boats.  In RE we have learnt about the celebration of Holi and held our own Festival of Colour Holi celebration with Nova, Comet and Orchard class. As we get closer to Easter we have also been learning about the Christian story of Easter and understanding why and how it is celebrated. We have been learning about basic First Aid, what to do in an emergency and people who could help us.  We have also been learning about how our bodies change and grow as we get older. In Maths, Moonbeam class has been developing our counting skills, being able to count from any number and count irregular arrangements. We have then used this knowledge when learning about composition and number bonds. We have also been learning about measurements, focusing on length, being able to recognise and compare different lengths and explain ourselves using key mathematical vocabulary. In English, we have been reading the book ‘How to Find Gold’.  We have made predictions, role on the wall activities and participated in role play, making our own treasure maps to explore. We have also designed and created our own underwater world and sea monster to make our own story.  We’ve been using our Computing skills to research information on the internet and share this information using GoogleDocs. We’ve also enjoyed using Read&Write to share some of our writing this Term. 


Faye Mendez - Satellite Director

           

Phase 3


Aztec Class Aztec class has had a very busy Term.  We have been learning about explorers, our focus was on Jacques Cousteau and how he navigated the world.  This involved researching different ships and boats, we then learned about the underwater world, something he introduced to us.  During cooking, students have learned how to safely use the hob, making one pot meals, and finished the term with an enterprise making Easter cakes and biscuits to raise money for our Phase 3 tuck shop.  Students have worked hard designing and following a business plan, and as a Phase we hope to have this up and running next Term.  In Maths, students have been getting to grips with fractions, and are able to find ½, 1;4 and ⅓ of shape and number, they are understanding we share these into equal parts by the denominator (the bottom number).  


Sparta Class This Term, Sparta classes central idea has been "Explorers have opened up unknown areas of our World".  Sparta looked into Egypt, specifically the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings. Students have been able to identify where Egypt was on a map and which continent it belongs to. They made their own maps of Egypt, labelling key landmarks and historic locations which we researched further during our time in the library. Later in the term, the students also made presentations about different jobs that people had in Ancient Egypt and presented them to the rest of the class in their groups. 

On World Book day, Sparta class visited the library and chose a preloved book to read and take home with them. The students have also been doing some really great work during reading sessions and have made great progress during our Read Write Inc sessions. This Term in Maths Sparta class has been learning about fractions. Students have been encouraged to use manipulatives to support their learning. They have been using mathematical language such as numerator, denominator, unit and non-unit fractions. We have also been using our recall knowledge of addition and subtraction by playing games such as making a stick person out of dienes and calculating the total. Sparta class was also invited to attend a presentation from the people at Bemix. Bemix is for young learners from 16-24. They support learners with additional needs to gain their functional skills exams whilst also giving them experience within a workplace which they would like to work in. The students asked some really great questions.


Tudor Class Our Transdisciplinary theme in Tudor class has been about Explorers and Adventures.

We have explored different worlds through the story of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and through new discoveries at the top of the tree into new and exciting lands.

We have been learning about different characters with some very odd names, for example, Moonface and saucepan man. The students have been using their own books to follow where the characters go to which land and making choices of what things to explore. For example in The Land of Spells, the students could mix bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to watch the reaction making their own potion. In Maths, in the land of Toys the students have explored many varieties of toys that have been played with in the past such as spinning tops.

 We have used a variety off manipulatives and coins to follow our sensory story, ‘Tudor class goes Shopping. Students identify key coins to buy something they would like whilst shopping. We have also been busy making many gifts for our mothers for Mother's Day.


Viking Class  has had a busy Term where we have been working on the PYP theme ‘How the world works’ exploring the topic of ‘Adventurers and Explorers,’ where we have focused on the continent of Antarctica. We have explored our lines of inquiry particularly focusing on polar regions including; where it is in the world, the landscape and how people are able to travel and navigate to this region. For our English we have focused on non-fiction, where we have researched and completed work about the people who have explored Antarctica and the south pole, including making fact files and conducting research about Ernest Shackleton. In maths we have worked hard learning about fractions including; finding fractions of a given shape and finding equivalent fractions using our multiplication and division knowledge. In PHSE we have been discussing the different relationships we have with people in our lives, where we distinguished between having healthy and unhealthy boundaries and what expectations we have from having good friendships with our peers.


We had a very successful end of term activity where the pupils assisted the children in Tudor, Jurassic and Saxons classes with joining in with activities based on our ‘Explorer Day’ theme ‘The Faraway Tree’. The pupils were responsible for leading activities in ‘Marvel Land’ making popcorn and candy floss as well as ‘Creativity Land’ using paints to make a graffiti wall with artwork. All the students should be very proud of themselves for all their hard work and care towards others.

Have a very Happy Easter, Sam and Vikings Team

Saxon Class have had great fun exploring the transdisciplinary theme of 'Explorers & Adventurers' this Term. We have travelled to different places in our sensory story, exploring different activities & resources which are all favourites of students in Saxon Class. Saxons have continued to enjoy weekly visits to the local shops in New Ash Green. We have visited the Co-op to buy snacks & cooking ingredients for class, tried delicious biscuits from the bakery and found books & puzzles in the charity shop for class.

Well done for all of your hard work this term Saxons!

Roman Class Roman Class have been working on our personal hygiene skills and getting to know how to use a toothbrush - with varying degrees of success! Some of us love the smell, some love the taste, and some are good at brushing. We also continue to have our wonderful Friday Spa afternoons - where we choose different foot creams, have a bubbly spa, and relax to the sound of spa music. And all of this for free - Champneys would charge big bucks.

We have also worked on our individual targets and been making great progress toward our personal goals.       

This term we were treated to a wonderful production by a company called Embracing Arts. We were joined by our friends in other Brook Pathway classes and everyone had a great time enjoying the sensory circus.

Have a great Easter everyone from the Roman students, and team.

Renaissance Class Our Term 3 theme is How the World Works: Explorers and Adventurers with the Central Idea of Explorers have opened up unknown environments of our World. We have been learning the difference between fiction and nonfiction books and the features of nonfiction books. We explored our amazing new library that was redeveloped earlier on in the year, we each found fiction and nonfiction books, and discussed why they were fiction or nonfiction. We all enjoyed celebrating World book day this term, we shared books in class and then really enjoyed accessing the book swap and choosing books to take home and share with our families. In maths we have been learning fractions. We have been practising making halves and quarters of shapes and amounts. We then moved on to working on mass and volume, we had a great time with coloured water exploring whether different bottles and cups had larger or smaller capacities. We have all also been working hard in the cookery room each week to cook a variety of different foods and tasting them, as well as safely working with kitchen equipment such as knives and graters. Finally learning how to tidy up in the kitchen once we are finished cooking, everyone has worked hard on learning how to wash up and put away the equipment properly and how to wipe down all the work surfaces.

This Term was also our swimming Term, we loved our lessons and had a great time being risk-takers, trying new things and giving our all. 

Jurassic Class have really enjoyed lots of different things in Term 4. As a part of our Central Idea, that explorers have opened up unknown environments of our world, we read the book Manfish by Jennifer Berne.  This tells the story of Jacques Cousteau and how he led the way in underwater exploration and filming.  Leading on from this we made a whole class map and thought about how we can tell the difference between sea and land.  We have looked at the animals that live in both.  We have created some funky eyes in art when we explored colour mixing and created woven fish using paper and card.  We've really enjoyed seeing all of the signs of spring and have enjoyed watching our own plants grow in Science. 

Phase 3 Enquiry Day

The Phase was transformed into different lands to represent ‘The faraway tree’ by Enid Blyton.  Waterfall pathway students organised and facilitated activities for students in the Stream and Brook pathway to explore and enjoy.  There was a Land of Marvel - allowing students to be wowed by kernels turning into popcorn and sugar into candy floss.  The Land of Dance allowed students to explore movement whereas the Land of Music led to exploration of rhythm.  In the Land of dreams, there were lights, bubbles, calm music and students made cloud dough.  In the Land of mindfulness, there were calming activities, sensory exploration as well as foot spas.  Lastly, in the Land of meditation, there were opportunities to participate in yoga.  All students had a fantastic day, demonstrating great responsibility and communication skills and ability to be flexible as they transitioned to different classes and their normal timetabled day.

For more information and pictures of student learning, please go to the Milestone Academy website, click on the curriculum tab, then Phase and class pages, where you can see what the phase and each class have been up to.


Kyle Marsh - Phase 3 Director 

Milestone @ The Leigh Academy

It has been an exciting half-term at M@L, the children have produced some fantastic work! We are very proud of what we have achieved over the last six weeks.

We wish you all a wonderful Easter break. Thank you for your commitment to supporting us to do the absolute best that we can for your children. We look forward to working with you when we return for the Summer Term.

 

Shakespeare Schools Festival 2023

On 15th March, M@L students took part in Shakespeare for Schools Festival which is the UK's largest youth drama festival. It offers students the opportunity to perform on local professional stages. Our students and staff worked together to put on a performance of an adapted version of Romeo and Juliet. Rehearsals took place on a weekly basis for a few months and culminated with a performance at the Woodville Halls Theatre, in Gravesend.

The students worked extremely hard since June to perfect this performance and it's safe to say they made themselves, and our school, extremely proud.   

 

Anning class have explored the Central Idea of “The natural world supports our growing knowledge of the universe”. We have learnt about creation stories and studied the planets that inhabit our solar system. We identified the different types of planets we have in our solar system and we researched interesting facts about each of them. In Maths, we began the term by exploring length, height, mass and volume. We have also learnt about fractions and that a fraction can be seen as part of a whole and that to find a unit fraction, they divide the whole into equal parts. We have also identified the role of the denominator, appreciating that this shows how many equal parts the whole has been divided into. The students have particularly enjoyed the practical aspects of these lessons. Students have used the skills they have learnt and mastered during their Phonics/English lessons to read and write across all areas of the curriculum. They have produced some fantastic work!

 

Turing Class Turing students have been hard at work this Term exploring many aspects of the Earth and the universe. We have looked at Space and the planets in our solar system and students are in the process of making a model solar system which they are looking forward to displaying in our classroom. We have also explored how the tilt of the Earth on its axis leads to the seasons and how the changes in seasons affect our lives - including everything from heating costs to how we spend our social time. Students then explored how the orbit of the Earth around the sun leads to day and night and how this has resulted in Time Zones across the globe. Finally, students have looked at some of the great inventions of the world and even prepared arguments as to what they believe is the best invention of all time! Turing students worked hard to earn a reward trip to Dartford to have breakfast in a cafe. This gave students a chance to also practice their skills in ordering from a menu, speaking with staff in a restaurant and - possibly the most important and their favourite skill - spending cash! Students enjoyed the trip and were happy to have the time away from the classroom. Finally, this term students completed the class read for Wonder - they were able to discuss the changes to the main character that have occurred over the course of the novel and have reflected on the motivations of many of the characters. They are looking forward to watching the film next Term, as well as reading a follow up book based on one of their favourite side characters. 


Equiano Class In Equiano Class, as part of our unit of inquiry we have been  exploring how the natural word is affected by humans and how our understanding of the natural world affects how we live. The students have been exploring how the Universe was created and the differences between Science and Religion. They have also been exploring the differences between the planets and the Geographical elements of Earth and natural disasters. For maths this term we have been focusing on Fractions and how we can use fractions in everyday life. We started by focusing on wholes and parts and then developed our understanding of halves and quarters and how we can use division to find out half or a quarter of a quantity. Including money, objects and with measurement when cooking and dividing items amongst others. 


Over the last two Terms Students have been working on a performance of Romeo and Juliet as part of the Shakespeare Festival at Woodville Hall.  Students have worked really hard on perfecting their lines and characters, as well as attending multiple rehearsals. We have students who have supported us with directing the show and having an involvement in set, lighting and sound. All students who were involved should be very proud of their efforts, as it was a huge success. 

In Art this term, students have been studying Futurist artists such as, Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni and Gino Severini. The students studied these artists before creating their work. The work is a celebration of movement and dynamism.  We think you'll agree - this is some outstanding work that is proudly displayed in our classroom.  


The Leigh Academy hosted a school disco for children in Year 7 and some of M@L students also attended. The event was a roaring success with lots of fun, games and money raised for Comic Relief and The Darenth Valley Hospital. Our children really enjoyed the Disco. It was great to see them all dancing and having fun!





Sofia Pinto- Satellite Director - Milestone @ The Leigh

Phase 4


Dover Class Dover Class have had a very busy time travelling the world. We have visited Rome, Madagascar, and Spain. 

Learning about ‘our world around us’ we have tasted new foods, listened to music from the different countries and seen the visitor attractions and animals. 


In Science we have been learning about how our bodies work, we particularly enjoyed the lesson on digestion. We make good use of the library, building on our ASDAN reading.



Eynsford Class Eynsford class have been working hard on our second module for our ASDAN accreditation ‘Getting on with people’- we have been learning to share resources and help our friends. As part of this module we have also been learning to ask for help and accepting help during structured work sessions, as well as functional skills to develop our independence. 

We enjoyed an afternoon activity to celebrate Red Nose days and explored different red themed sensory stimuli - the red spaghetti trays, jelly and balloons were our favourites. 


Eynsford class have also attended Bore Place this term as part of their work experience. We have enjoyed visiting the cows and have been able to feed them each week. Eynsford class have also helped to care for the sensory garden and have been exploring the smells, and textures of different plants and trees.  



Scotney Class In Scotney Class this Term we have been working hard on our “Mini Enterprise” scheme for our Asdan qualification. We have made a variety of items to sell to our friends.

In Food and Nutrition lessons we have been looking at dishes from other countries. So far our firm favourite was the bruschetta from Italy.


We were very excited to see our daffodils that we planted last year are finally blooming and we are looking forward to planting more flowers and vegetables next term when the weather should be a little brighter.


Canterbury Class Canterbury students have had another busy Term, we have really enjoyed our topic of ‘One World’. We have been learning about the different countries across the world, how to say ‘hello’ in different languages and looking at similarities and differences in our lives compared to children who live in other countries.   


In out Asdan module ‘Getting on with people’ we have been learning how to work in bigger groups and with different people and how to share resources fairly. We have been learning to recognise when our friends need help and to offer that help, as well as ask for help ourselves appropriately when needed.



Leeds Class Leeds class have enjoyed learning about countries from around the World. We used our senses to smell and taste the different foods. 


We made flags from the countries we visited in the sensory story. America, Italy, China England and Mexico.



Noleen Donaghy-Parkhouse - Phase 4 Leader 

It has been wonderful to see the fantastic personalised and functional learning the students in Phase 4 have been working towards and achieving this term alongside their work based learning and accreditation work.


Thank you to our families for your ongoing support. We wish you and your young person a wonderful half term and a special time for those families celebrating festivals of Easter and Ramadan during the break. We look forward to welcoming your young person back to school in Term 5.


Milestone @ Wilmington Academy

Upnor Class have had a very busy and productive Term 4 - the students have continued to develop their functional skills in maths and English and they have been working hard to finalise their portfolios for the accreditation courses. Students have enjoyed taking part in Red Nose Day activities and they all really enjoyed learning about International Women's Day.  The students in Upnor have been consolidating their life skills and have been visiting We are Beams, where they have taken responsibility for a variety of roles and have enjoyed making their own lunches each week.  



Hever Class Hever class really enjoyed the range of activities for Red Nose Day that were available at M@W. They appear to have settled well after the transition between teachers and I am proud of the progress they have made. 


We have been exploring the world of work, developing interview techniques, identifying strengths, interests and skills that are transferable and should be mentioned as part of a personal statement. We have also been developing our skills through travel training to increase the level of awareness, safety and independence. 



Rochester Class M@W students participated in a variety of activities to help raise money for Red Nose Day. Rochester students ran the café in the morning where they cooked an English fry up for the Department to enjoy for breakfast.

We had a fun filled day of decorating cupcakes, playing pin the red nose on the face, target games and a kahoot in the afternoon


Nicky McCarthy - Satellite Director 





PE News 

We have made significant strides in terms of improving our PE provision over the last couple of terms and moving towards the end of this academic year into 2023-24. We have utilised the Primary Sports premium to invest in Swimming for our phase 1 students. Students have been attending weekly swimming lessons delivered by a coach at Fairfield leisure centre in Dartford. Introducing our young people to water safety skills earlier will enhance confidence and improve physical development and provide an important life skill. We are now taking part in weekly swimming lessons from phase 1 right through to phase 4. We are excited to announce an affiliation with Progressive Sports for work to start in term 5 moving into next academic year. Progressive Sports have a proven track record of improving physical activity in young people and work in over 300 schools across the UK engaging over 75,00 students in their programmes of work. Coaches will work alongside class leads to deliver our Complete PE curriculum, the collaboration will allow class teams to train coaches in regards to needs, behaviours and ability levels of each group and coaches will then incorporate a team teach approach to train class leads in terms of PE delivery and upskill staff. Progressive Sports will provide the following services. Please see website for further info https://progressive-sports.co.uk/ 

 

In other news please take note of all of our sports / activity days which take place in June. Our sports days have been separated into curriculum pathways to ensure better differentiated events and a more meaningful and logistical way of providing an enjoyable experience for students and families attending. Dates along with back up dates are detailed below along with class names for each event.

PMLD Activity morning - Tuesday 13th June time TBC (Penguin, Flamingo, Woodland, Roman, Coast, Leeds)

Phase 3/4 Stream Pathway - Thursday 15th June (backup date Monday 19th June) 10:30am  - Tudor, Saxon 1:30pm - Eynsford, Scotney and Canterbury

Phase 1/2 Stream Pathway - Friday 16th June (backup date Wednesday 21st June) 10:30am - Bear, Lion, Koala and Tiger 1:30pm - Forest, Canyon, Glacier and Mountain

Phase 3/4 River and Waterfall Pathway - Tuesday 20th June (backup date Fri 23rd June) 10:30am - Dover, Aztec and Jurassic 1:30pm - Viking, Sparta and Renaissance 

Phase 1/2 River and Waterfall Pathway - Thursday 22nd June (backup date Monday 26th June) 10:30am - Giraffe, Leopard and Orchard

 

We will notify parents and carers and families on what you need to do if you wish to attend any of these dates in due course.


Steve Devereux - Head of PE 

Horticulture News

We have been busy in Phase 1 planting seeds & exploring different environments using our senses.  Bear class planted potatoes & Koala, Flamingo & Penguin painted pots to plant their sunflower seed in. 


In Phase 3 Romans, Sparta, Tudor & Aztec have been busy planting seeds & supporting the garden renovation.  Sparta did an excellent job weeding & piling up the soil ready for the new sleepers.  We hope to plant potatoes, onions & carrots once the weather warms up.


The horticulture groups are continuing the animal care unit and  enjoyed a visit to Larkin Farm.  They fed & groomed various animals including goats, sheep, chickens & rabbits.  We will be back working in the garden over the coming weeks.


  

Garden Renovation Update


Unfortunately, due to the weather over recent weeks this has been postponed.  Hopefully, we will begin putting in the new sleepers over the next few weeks.




Kirsty Wiseman - Horticulture Teacher



Pupdate! 

Toffee & Fudge here,

We are settling in at Milestone and our home really well. We have been busy with our training and learning new skills. When we come to work we are very well behaved though we discovered our voices recently and thin think we sound so good that you might hear us from time to time if you’re around at the school! At home it’s time for us to relax and be puppies. We have been making new friends though we need to learn some more manners when it comes to meeting new dogs as we are so friendly and want everyone to be our friend we are sometimes a bit too enthusiastic!!!  We are

also enjoying going out to explore different places. Fudge wasn’t to keen on the snow but I (Toffee) loved it and was trying to catch the snowflakes as they fell. Fudge particularly likes a bit of mud and it’s growing on Toffee also, as digging is so much fun. When we are at work we have continued to visit classes when we have been invited and helping the Medical Team in the clinics, we even convinced two nurses from the NHS not to be wary of dogs by showing them how cute and loving we are.

Here are some photos of what we have been up to recently.




Online Safety


Vodafone have created a Digital Parenting Magazine for families. In this resource, Vodafone have put together articles and expert advice on a variety of online safety topics to help keep children safe in the digital world. The 10th edition can be found here: digital parenting magazine


Vodafone have also developed their digital parenting pro; an interactive resource which provides helpful information about what parental controls and safety settings are available across the most popular apps, games and devices. This is a useful resource that allows adults to take steps to keep children safer when accessing the internet and technology at home.


Alongside this, Vodafone have also created a “Digital family pledge”,

which is another interactive resource designed for families of children aged 5-13

years, to support parents/carers in starting a discussion and setting appropriate

‘house rules’ on how technology should be used and acceptable behaviour online.




Dates for Your Diary

17th April  Satellite Individual School Photos

5th June Mainsite Individual School Photos

13th June PMLD Activity Morning time TBS (Penguin, Flamingo, Woodland, Roman, Coast, Leeds)

15th June Sports day Phase 3/4 Stream Pathway 10.30am - Tudor, Saxon 1.30pm - Eynsford, Scotney, Canterbury

16th June Sports day Phase 1/2 Stream Pathway 10.30am - Bear, Lion, Koala, Tiger 1.30pm - Forest, Canyon, Glacier, Mountain

20th June Sports day Phase 3/4 River and Waterfall Pathway 10.30am - Dover, Aztec, Jurassic 1.30pm - Viking Sparta, Renaissance

20th June Parent's Evening (remote)

21st June Parents Evening (in-person)

26th June Sports day Phase 1/2 River and Waterfall Pathway 10.30am Giraffe, Leopard, Orchard




Friends of Milestone


Hello from The Friends of Milestone.


Since our last Newsletter contribution, it has been fairly quiet for the Friends and although we have only just come into 2023 we are planning our biggest event of the year, the Summer fete.  The date has been set for Saturday 1st July.  More details will be published nearer the time but if there are any parents that would like a stall at the fete in please get in touch through the friend’s email address below.  


We would like to welcome the parents have joined us recently its lovely to have a few new, fresh faces supporting the friends but we would like to welcome more parents to join.  If you are interested in joining then please do join at our meetings.  These are the dates and times for our meetings up until the end of the academic year;


                  Thursday 18th May 1pm for 1.30pm start in TRAC 2

                  Thursday 15th June 5.30 for 6pm start in TRAC 3

                  Thursday 13th July 9.30 for 10am start in TRAC  2


Also, if you are having spring cleans/decluttering at home we welcome any donations of new/unused toiletries, gift sets etc.  If you have anything suitable please send it to reception who will pass it onto us 


Upcoming events 


Monday 12th June Father’s Day wrap This is a chance for your children to shop for their own Father’s Day gifts to bring home.  Gifts are priced £2, £3 & £4 each.


If there are any parents that would be able and willing to donate some of their time to support with these events it would be greatly appreciated.  We need volunteers to serve the children and wrap their chosen gifts for them.  This is held at Milestone’s main site for volunteers.


Saturday 1st July Summer Fete We will be asking for as many volunteers as possible to help setting up for the fete in the morning, during the fete and also packing away at the end of the afternoon.  


Mothers day

A fantastic £593.25 was raised during this event.  Thank you for your donations.


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)


Thank you all for your continued support.


Faye Warman – Chair

Sarah Spiers – Co-Chair and Treasurer

Lyn French – Secretary

Friends of Milestone

Friends of Milestone logo

Medical and Therapy Team News


Physiotherapy 

The NHS Physiotherapists have been in school weekly, checking equipment and reviewing children.   

Useful Tip to Support Language and Communication 

It is always great to see how the staff working with our pupils understand their needs and adapt how they communicate depending on who they are working with, being good communication partners. The 'TALK' principles are a good way to remember how to support an interaction (Communication Access UK)


Talk: give time to process information and think about a response

Ask: ask what helps, what can we do

Listen and Look: how are they trying to communicate

Keep trying and persevere


More information can be found on the ACE Centre website, where there is a free online course about communication partners 

https://acecentre.org.uk/learning/communication-partners-i


It is wonderful to share an increased confidence from the students who come to sign club. The students are now familiar with three songs we have been practicing which has helped them remember the key signs. The songs include Harry Styles 'Late night Talking", 'Reach' by S club 7 and 'Dance With Me Tonight' by Olly Murs.  Each week the students are supported by staff from their class who help them to join in and model how to do the signs. We appreciate their help and enthusiasm too!


Students in the alternative & augmentative communication (AAC) group have had great fun with the Scaletrix.  Students used their communication devices to request a turn, control the speed of the cars, comment on what happened (crashes and wheel spins). They really enjoyed trying to go faster and crashing!


Wheelchair Service 

We are happy to accommodate visits from Wheelchair Services in school during the school day.  It is helpful if families let the class team know if you have arranged a visit.  They do not let us know what work needs to be carried or what they have done.  This means we are not able to provide feedback to families.  You will need to contact Wheelchair Services directly yourselves.  

Medical Team News 

Immunisation Clinic 

An Immunisation Clinic (TdIPV, MenACWY and HPV catch up for children in Years 8-11) 

was held in school on Wednesday 15th March, with the majority of students choosing to receive their Immunisations. Fudge the puppy joined us for the duration of the clinic, this was a great incentive for the students. 


Reminder  All medication will be returned home for the Easter holiday. Please make sure your child returns with their medication on the first day back.  This includes, all regular medications and emergency medications with the FP10 prescription, boxed with a clear prescription label and visible expiry date.  Calpol needs to be sent in a new sealed bottle with their name and date of birth written on. 


Useful 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  

To contact 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.