Milestone Academy Newsletter

May 2024 - Term 5

Principal's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our term 5 newsletter - this term seems to have flown by and it’s hard to believe that after half-term we will be returning for our final term of the academic year!

We have enjoyed another full and engaging term over the last six weeks with residentials, swimming, inquiry days and exams. We held the Milestone Futures Careers Day, marked Wellbeing week, and we wore green for mental health awareness - we raised £230 in the process, so thank you very much for your contributions . To top it all, the weather has afforded us plenty of opportunities to get outside. What a rich tapestry of learning and experience we have had! Thank you to our staff who make it possible and to parents/carers for supporting these endeavours. Please follow the links to read more about what your child’s class has been up to this term, or visit your class page on our website: https://milestoneacademy.org.uk/ then select ‘Class websites by phase’ from the menu.

I’m delighted to share that we have two new additions to our school dogs team - which is now becoming more like the Milestone Paw Patrol! The new pup recruits, Harper and Betty, are part of The Dog Mentor Programme, which has proven results in positively supporting children. Both dogs will work across our mainsite and our satellites. Please see more details later in this newsletter.

A reminder for term 6 to please be prepared for hot weather. Please ensure your child has a water bottle and a sun hat, and remember to apply sunscreen before school as well as sending it in with your child (check ingredients of your sunscreen to ensure it does not contain nut oils). Please consider whether you need to send your child to school in a jumper or not, on hot days it can be hard for us to persuade them to remove them. Your help here is greatly appreciated.

Term 6 is traditionally a busy term and this year will be no exception - please do check the Upcoming Events pages of the website to keep track of everything coming up. Key events of note are: Parents Consultations 18th/19th June, Sports Days (dates in PE Update below), and last day of term 6 is Friday 19th July with early finish at 2pm.

I wish you all a restful break and hope you enjoy your valuable time together. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 3rd June, for what promises to be a joyful and jam-packed final term!

Sarah Goosani - Principal

Phase 1

Module 5 has been spent further exploring our Transdisciplinary Themes through engaging activities. We have immersed ourselves in learning about seaside holidays, delving into sand and water play to learn about coastal environments. With the improving weather, outdoor learning has become a firm favourite, providing invaluable sensory experiences and enhancing our understanding of the world around us. This module has also seen Giraffe class attending weekly swimming lessons at Fairfield, they have had a fantastic time and enjoyed the benefits of physical activity and water-based learning. In addition to this, we have had great fun exploring the works of Marc Chagall, specifically his flower printing technique, using flowers and paint to recreate his vibrant and imaginative pieces. We hope you have a lovely half term break and look forward to welcoming the children back for a busy and engaging Module 6.

Please look at our class pages on the following link: https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-1/home

Catherine McHugh-Moss - Phase 1 Leader

Claire Woolmer - Assistant Principal Phase 1

Phase 2

Reaching the end of Module 5, we celebrate the incredible journey the pupils have been on when delving into the wonders of ancient Egypt in history and embarking on a thrilling exploration of the properties of rocks in science. Through immersive learning experiences tailored to their unique abilities, our students have unearthed the mysteries of pharaohs, pyramids, and hieroglyphics; breathing life into the past with their boundless curiosity and enthusiasm. Meanwhile, in science, they've ventured into the fascinating world of geology, uncovering the secrets hidden within rocks and minerals as well as exploring the characteristics and properties of these rocks. The change in weather has afforded many outside learning opportunities where pupils have immersed themselves in the changing season, explored nature and simply enjoyed the fresh air. We hope you have a lovely half term break and look forward to welcoming the children back to an exciting, engaging and hopefully warm Module 6.

Please look at our class pages on the following link: phase 2 class websites

Lucy Sparkes - Phase 2 Leader

Michelle Hilton - Assistant Principal Phase 2

Milestone @ Dartford Primary Academy

Upon completing Module 5, we commemorate the remarkable journey that the students have embarked on while delving into our three lines of inquiry: Buildings are important to different people, the environment has different features, and my body is continuously developing. The pupils have taken pleasure in studying Ancient Egypt and discovering the process of mummification by mummifying an orange. Additionally, in science, the students have relished learning about different types of rocks and their utilisation in everyday settings, as well as investigating the characteristics and properties of these rocks. The students in Moonbeam class have savoured the improved weather conditions during their Forest school activities. Comet class has demonstrated resilience and determination in their swimming lessons, with many showing increased confidence in the water. Nova class has paid a visit to Dartford library to enhance their passion for reading and to improve their safety skills while venturing out in the community. We wish you a delightful half term break and eagerly anticipate the return of the children to an exciting, engaging, and hopefully warm Module 6.

Please look at our class pages on the following link: https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-2/home

Faye Mendez - Satellite Director

Phase 3

It feels like only yesterday that I wrote the news for Module 4, and here with are at the end of Module 5. There have been achievements from students throughout the phase. In Roman class, our Year 12 students have been working towards Asdan accreditations, decorating items for our school fete. Students are improving their communication everyday through PECs, communication boards, E-tran and the interactive whiteboard, which has ensured they have been able to clearly voice their choices and preferences. 'See and Learn' has been introduced to students, who are actually racing through the programme, keeping Sarah on her toes to ensure that new resources are ready!

In our Stream classes, students have been working extremely well in accessing the community through swimming and also shopping by reading a symbolised list to find what is needed for the school tuck shop. During morning lessons, progress has been made in reading through the individual learning targets with students recognising letters, reading cvc words and writing. Play times and inter-phase activities have also lent themselves more to building interaction with peers, not only in the classroom but across the pathways.

In the River pathway, Aztec class has managed the change in teachers and are thriving as they enjoy learning experiences through the transdisciplinary themes made real and relevant as it encompasses their Afternoon tea with parents. In Jurassic, they have progressed so well, not only using colourful semantics to support their writing but also transferring this skill into their communication in school and at home. The classroom has become very colourful with the artwork created as they learned about and celebrated Eid.

Waterfall pathway has also been really busy, learning about pioneering leaders and different governments. Viking class has learned how to complete Algebra, something I found difficult at school, so maybe they can help me! They have also learned about both formal and informal emails. During cooking, they have learned how to make easy samosa with ingredients from the fridge or pre-cooked leftovers. In Sparta class, students are becoming more confident in their times tables facts and have transitioned the learning of the 5 x table into helping them to tell the time. Cooking lessons have been enjoyed by all, as more students engage with the ingredients and overcome their sensory difficulties. AI has helped Sparta to create Islands from their descriptions, and also highlight to students how each of them have different viewpoints. Renaissance class has been swimming this term and really demonstrated resilience and confidence in the water.

The students have all enjoyed the new recreation programme on offer at at lunchtime. Students have the opportunity to choose from a diverse range of activities on the playground and field, ranging from physical activities to mindfulness and reading.

As a phase, all classes had the opportunity to attend the Milestone Futures Careers day, where they collected information on colleges, academic courses and opportunities available in Creative Arts. Each pathway has hosted events for parents to attend and these have been extremely successful allowing for both to engage in activities and enjoy food prepared by the young people.

Phase 3 are rehearsing for our 'This is Me' collaborative performance on July 9th, students are enjoying learning new Makaton signs for our finale.

Dates for the diary: 8th - 12th July Activity week and 9th July 'This is me' performance.

Have a wonderful half term, let's hope we get some sunshine! All the team in Phase 3 look forward to the summer term.

Please look at our class pages on the following link:: https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-3/home

Maria Steer - Phase 3 Leader

Kyle Marsh - Assistant Principal Phase 3

Milestone @ The Leigh Academy

As Module 5 comes to an end, we are thrilled to share some of the incredible achievements and experiences our students have had over the past weeks. This module has been nothing short of superb, filled with enriching activities and significant academic milestones.

We started exploring the Transdisciplinary Theme of 'How We Organise Ourselves', with a central idea that emphasises how communities depend on effective organisation. Through thought-provoking discussions and engaging activities, our students explored lines of inquiry such as how communities organise themselves to meet diverse needs, how they adapt to changing circumstances, and the various roles leaders play in community organisation.

As part of this exploration, some of our students visited Snowfields Academy for the Anne Frank exhibition. The experience was profound, and our students asked insightful questions while absorbing the information. This visit not only enhanced their understanding of historical events but also highlighted the importance of organisation and leadership in challenging times.

We also celebrated Wellbeing Week, which was a wonderful opportunity for our students to focus on their mental and physical health. Our students thoroughly enjoyed going to Dartford Central Park, and it was rewarding to see them having a great time, smiling, and interacting with each other. Activities like these are vital in promoting a sense of community and wellbeing among our students.

We are proud to announce that our students obtained fantastic results in their functional skills exams. Their hard work and dedication have truly paid off, and we celebrate their success. Additionally, some of our students have started their GCSE exams. They have demonstrated great resilience and determination, and we are confident they will continue to excel. Their commitment to their studies is exceptional and serves as an inspiration to us all.

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration in your child's education. We wish you a wonderful break, hopefully filled with sunshine and the joy of building memories with your families.

Please look at our class pages on the following link: https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-3/home

Sofia Pinto - Satellite Director

Phase 4

Phase 4 has continued to work extremely hard this term towards their ASDAN accreditations in both maths and business enterprise, which has seen students participating in a range of new creative activities such as using boomwhackers in music and making homemade soap to sell. With the warmer weather arriving, the students in phase 4 have been working hard with Kirsty during horticulture sessions to plant a variety of plants and food; this included planting, harvesting and tasting lettuce and rhubarb. Dover class have participated in a number of off-site visits, including a trip to the Bluewater Nature Trail where they identified and learnt about the different wildlife. Some classes have been learning how to use the air fryer this term to make some delicious recipes including lemonade scones, which tasted delicious! During clubs we have continued to participate in activities such as games, puzzles and messy play, in addition to the new rounders club which has been great fun! Well done to all the phase 4 students for their continued hard work. We look forward to welcoming them back next module for our final term!

Please look at our class pages on the following link: https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-4/home

Katy Morez - Phase 4 Leader

Noleen Donaghy-Parkhouse - Assistant Principal Phase 4

Milestone @ Wilmington Academy

M@W has had a fantastic term, and the students have continued to work exceptionally hard towards their accreditations and final exams which take place in term 6.

The first week of May was an exciting week as 16 students went on the residential holiday to Carroty Woods. The students (and staff) had a brilliant time, taking part in abseiling, raft building, canoeing, rock climbing and finishing the week on a high ropes course. I was so proud of all of the students as they faced their fears, and went outside of their comfort zones to try these new experiences.

Back at M@W the students enjoyed an activity week, taking part in a comedy club competition, a bake-off and a visit to a local sports centre for a game of football and some lunch.

We are very excited to be planning our first end of year production (more information to come out next term) as well as our end of year prom - the students are already very excited for both of these to take place!

Please look at our class pages on the following link: https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-4/home

Nicky McCarthy - Satellite Director

PE News

We have an exciting summer of sporting activities planned starting in June. Students will be taking part in the LAT primary and secondary sports day events in mid July as well as the LAT primary Cricket event at SJWMS in Rochester. We will also be sending a team to the KSENT Olympics on 26th June to compete against other special needs school from around Kent. Here are the dates of all of our sports days (and back up dates) please make a note of your child/young person's event date:

Phase 3 and 4 Stream Pathway - Tuesday 18th June (back up 19th) 10.30am:Jurassic, Saxon, Tudor 1.30pm: Dover, Eynsford, Canterbury, Scotney

Phase 1 and 2 Stream Pathway - Thursday 20th June (back up 21st) 10.30am: Leopard, Bear, Lion, Tiger 1.30pm: Mountain, Forest, Canyon, Glacier

Phase 3 and 4 River / Waterfall Pathway - Tuesday 25th June (back up 26th) 10.30am: Aztec, Renaissance 1.30pm: Sparta, Viking

Phase 1 and 2 River / Waterfall Pathway & DPA - Thursday 27th June (back up 28th) 10.30am: Koala, Giraffe 1.30pm: Orchard

PMLD activity day - Tuesday 2nd July

We look forward to seeing you at these events to support your child's participation.

Steve Devereux - Head of PE

Dates for Your Diary

Monday 3rd June - First day Term 6

Tuesday 18th June - Parents Consultation evening (virtual)

Wednesday 19th June - Parents Consultation evening (in person)

Friday 19th July - Last day Term 6, please note we finish at 2pm.

Friends of Milestone - Charity No: 278677

We are currently planning for the summer fete which will be on Saturday 22nd June, times to be confirmed. These events are reliant on volunteers, so if any of our parents/carers has any availability to support stalls/activities please do let us know, your help is always very much appreciated.

Dates to remember:

Friday 7th June - Non-uniform day for sweets donation

Monday 10th June - Father’s Day wrap

Saturday 22nd June - Summer Fete

Saturday 13th July - Milestone Bootfair- more details to follow

We are hoping to host a Luna family film night in September and will be sending out more details soon.

If there are any parents that would like to join the Friends or are curious to find out more then please do join us at one of our meetings. Thank you for your continued support.

We hope you have a fantastic half term break

Faye Warman – Chair

Sarah Spiers – Co-Chair and Treasurer

Lyn French – Secretary

Friends of Milestone

Medical and Therapy Team News

Therapy News

Friendships are important for all of our pupils. The article 'He Cares About Me and I Care About Him.” Children's Experiences of Friendship with Peers who use AAC', looks at friendships with pupils who use AAC. Overall the children in this study identified that friendships with peers who use AAC are enjoyable, rewarding, and are beneficial experiences; and can also generate learning opportunities and facilitate personal growth. This acts as an important reminder for us all to acknowledge the uniqueness of each of our children and to encourage friendships however we communicate. You can view the full article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/07434618.2011.577449

NHS Physios have been visiting school weekly for clinics and equipment trials. You'll see on the left, Matthew taking his first walk with his new walker. He was very keen and managed a lap of the corridors in Phase 3 with little assistance. Well done Matthew! (Photo 1)

Through imaginative play, Flynn has been developing his expressive language skills, displaying creativity and problem-solving skills. Well done Flynn! (Photo 2)

Now the sunshine is out more, Tim has been leading some signing sessions on the playground, with Viking class. We play games such as 'What's the time Mr Wolf?', 'Hide and seek', 'Simon says' and 'Stuck in the mud'. These games are great for team-building, turn-taking and social skills and the students learn two to four new signs with each new game, such as: "What", "time", "Wolf" and "numbers". The students take turns leading the game and directing peers. These have become very social, active lessons and we are usually joined by students from other classes, such as Sparta and Tudor. Play sessions like this with repetition are a great way to support your child’s developing language, in a fun, relaxed way, and are a great way to introduce core words to your child. Why not try some games yourself and let us know how they get on? Here are some examples of games with the corresponding core words to help get you started:

Hide and seek: Go, look/see, find, where

Stuck in the mud: Help, friend

Simon says: Jump, stand, walk, dance, stop, sit

What's the time Mr Wolf? What, time, numbers

Medical News

Sue and the team have been reflecting on clinics held in the school so far this year. Since the beginning of September 2023, we have hosted: 11 Paediatrician Clinics, 2 Joint Paediatrician, OT & Physio Clinics, 11 Dietitian Clinics, 3 Continence Clinics, 4 ADHD Clinics, 10 Immunisation clinics. More clinics are scheduled in term 6. We hold these clinics in school as we believe it is good for the children, information can be shared and we hope it support families. These clinics are planned and hosted by the NHS Services. All clinic appointments are made by the specialist NHS services. If you are not able to attend the appointment you have been given, please contact the department that has sent the appointment letter to you in advance to re-schedule your appointment; this way the unwanted appointment can be offered to another child.

The medical and class teams work closely every day to support children's health needs during the school day. It really helps us if you share information regarding medication, new diagnosis, if your child is not feeling 100% that day etc via pupilhealthplans@milestoneacademy.org.uk

Please also continue to share any specialist medical reports so that we can keep the IHCPs updated. Thank you for your continued support.

From Liz Skilton and all in the Therapy & Medical Teams

Dog Mentor Programme

We are pleased to announce that Harper and Betty are joining Toffee and Fudge as school dogs, as part of the The Dog Mentor Programme. PAT dogs Pip and Daisy also visit from time to time.

The Dog Mentor programme has built upon the benefits of the human-animal bond by providing children positive experiences with dogs that can help them educationally, developmentally, emotionally and socially.

Over the last nine years The Dog Mentor programme has been proven to have a positive impact on children in all areas including self-esteem, behaviour, peer relationships and better engagement skills. These improvements then result in improved academic achievement.

We envisage that The Dog Mentor Programme will bring a positive influence into the school environment as a whole and look forward to the impact The Dog Mentor programme will have on our children. The dogs have completed full training and our staff will continue to work with Harper, Betty, Toffee and Fudge in order to ensure that the welfare of everyone involved is maintained as a top priority.

www.thedogmentor.co.uk

Horticulture News

Please take a look at our Horticulture webpages to see what we've been up to this term:

https://sites.google.com/latrust.org.uk/milestone-academy-phase-3/learning-engagements/horticulture-module-5

This May half term, National Children’s Gardening Week is encouraging families to Grow with Peter Rabbit!  There are free Grow with Peter Rabbit activity booklets available for you to collect from participating garden centres across the UK. The booklets are packed full of mischievous and fun indoor and outdoor activities for your children to enjoy this National Children’s Gardening Week.  Visit the website to find out more and find a participating garden centre near you: https://www.childrensgardeningweek.co.uk/peter-rabbit/

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.

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