Term 2 2015/2016

Achieving milestones together

Father Christmas at Milestone

Dear Families A warm winter welcome to all Term 2 readers. I am sure that reading our termly newsletter will leave you with an insight into the challenge, energy, vitality and warmth that permeates Milestone Academy. In my role I have the privilege of visiting fellow Kent Special Schools and during this term I have visited Five Acre Wood and Oakley School. In turn it was a pleasure to welcome into Milestone Academy the Headteachers of Wyvern and St Nicholas Special Schools. Together with these schools and Abbey Court (Medway) we are pioneering a “Peer to Peer” review programme within our schools - all seeking to draw on peer expertise and knowledge to develop a particular aspect of any one of our schools. I wanted to focus our review on how we can develop further the capture and analysis of our pupils' personal development. The reflections from this review have certainly assisted my plans for future development in this area. Throughout the term it has been inspiring to note the further development of our Phases - led by our Assistant Principals, Claire Woolmer (Phase 1), Michelle Hilton (2), Lucie Featherstone (3) and Janet Tidmas (4). The Phases, through the continuous work of all staff within them, are growing their own identity yet ensuring they deliver Milestone’s Core Moral Purpose. I wish to also record my gratitude to Dee Pickerill (Vice Principal) for the way she is ensuring this balance is successfully pursued. The past few weeks have rightfully seen a wonderful collection of seasonal events. These included Christingle, Nativity plays and also Phase parties. In particular I wish to thank Reverend Jim and Reverend Mel who so wonderfully led our services especially our Nine Lessons and Carols service which included staff and pupils from Hartley Academy, Fawkham School and Steep Hill School, with music led by our music teacher, Lesley Stewart. I have to say it was wonderful for us all to hear Harley from Ocean Class read so wonderfully. As ever, I wish to record my thanks to my colleagues for their diligence and hard work, this includes Ami who so diligently compiles this newsletter. Finally, I know that our Chair of Governors, The Local Board and the Leigh Academies Trust want to join me in wishing all readers a very happy Christmas and New Year. Nigel Jones, Principal

Primary Department

Dear Families, We have had a lovely festive season at Milestone Academy. We have had wonderful nativities, great parties, a beautiful Christmas dinner and the corridors are strewn with glitter! I wish you all a very healthy and happy Christmas and hope Santa brings you everything you hope for. Dee Pickerill, Vice Principal

Secondary Department

Term two is always a very busy but wonderful term and this year has been no exception. The students are very excited about the impending Christmas holiday, and I’m sure the staff are also. At the end of this term we will say goodbye to Julie Crothall who will be taking up a post nearer her home. We wish Julie lots of luck for the future and will miss her. Julie has taught at Milestone Academy for twelve and a half years and has made a tremendous contribution to the education of the students she has taught over these years, as well as supporting families. Zoe Webb will be teaching in our satellite provision at Wilmington from January 2015 and we wish her well in her transition to Phase 4. We will therefore be welcoming Nicola Thatcher who will teach Jurassic class and Katie Collinson, who will lead Norman class on a Thursday and Friday. There have been some wonderful assemblies this term and it has been lovely to see the parents and families of students in those classes join us to celebrate. Diwali was led by Tudor Class and the Nativity was led by Roman class, both assemblies were very well received by the students and families. Their hard work in taking part in such interactive and inspiring assemblies has been very much appreciated. We were also fortunate to have Ed Petrie, a CBBC presenter, deliver a presentation to the students on the 26th November about his career. This was organised by Lesley Tannock the Trust Careers Advisor and the students thoroughly enjoyed it. This term there has been lots of opportunities for learning to take place in other environments. Roman class have been ice skating at the Winter Wonderland in Bluewater, which was very exciting. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and found it very funny when the adults were trying to ice skate! Viking and Saxon class went to the Churchill Theatre in Bromley for an autism friendly performance of Aladdin. This was a fantastic experience for those students and they enjoyed reflecting on this performance in their classes. Sparta class have visited Dickens World, which enabled the students to reinforce their learning in English and history. Tudor class had a very successful outing to Hever Castle and particularly enjoyed the Christmas market. They found the lights and decorations very motivating. Norman class have visited the local café and recently visited Bluewater, while Jurassic class have continued to enjoy buying ingredients for their food technology lessons at a local supermarket.

I am very pleased to announce that Scouts will be introduced in Phase 3 over the course of the new year. The students enjoyed an assembly led by Becky Fagg who is the Regional Development Officer of the YUF Innovation Project (South East) of The Scout Association. Appropriately differentiated taster sessions for students will begin in Term 3 and students will then have the opportunity to take part in Scouts on a more permanent basis should they want to. I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the best for the New Year. Lucie Featherstone, Assistant Principal & Director of Phase 3.

Early Years

We are very happy to welcome Nicky McCarthy back from her maternity leave as Phase One Leader. This Term has been a very busy term with the older children in Phase One learning about the ‘Weather’. The children have been focusing on their environment and how this changes with the varying weather, during the different seasons. The younger children have been concentrating on everything about the ‘Farm’ and visited the local bakery and farm shop. When in school they have been baking bread and various other foods with their shop purchases. After their visits the Role Play area was made into a farm shop where the children have been taking turns and playing alongside each other. The whole Phase have been out and about on their Christmas outings and visited places such as the Greenwich Picture House, a show at the Woodville Halls, Farmer Christmas at Broadditch Grotto and Father Christmas at Millbrook Grotto, Ruxley Grotto and the Bluewater Grotto. All the children enjoyed the Christmas Party on Monday and are looking forward to the Nativity on Thursday. The Nativity this year was performed by the youngest children in the Phase and all of these children have been busy making their own scenery and practising hard. Phase One would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and we look forward to welcoming the children back in Term 3 and meeting parents at our various events during the Term. Claire Woolmer and all the staff in the Early Years Department

Phase 1

Phase 1 have had a very busy and “Christmassy” Term 2 and we have all worked really hard learning about our topic of “The weather”. We have learnt about the story of Noah’s Ark and some classes enjoyed making boats and experimenting whether they were able to sink or float.

We have also enjoyed observing the different weathers (although we’ve still not had any snow) and the pupils have all worked really hard on this.

Phase 1 have enjoyed some lovely Christmas themed trips with visits to Ruxley garden Centre, Bluewater and the Cinema. We also had a combined trip for Leopards, Turtles and Tigers where we rode on a tractor trailer and visited Farmer Christmas in the woods where a lovely time was had by all.

Next term we are looking forward to focussing on the topic “People that help us”.

May I wish you all a lovely Christmas and a happy New Year

Nicky McCarthy, Phase 1 Leader

Phase 2

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Phase 2 pupils on their many successes in Term 2. This term has seen all pupils be challenged academically and personally, with all pupils working hard to achieve their personal goals. Pupils have been getting ready for Christmas and learning signs for some of their more favourite Christmas songs; there are a number of good little singers. Pupils have been decorating their classroom with paper chains and snowflakes - with some pupils using their fraction knowledge to fold circles in half, and measurement skills to make a very, very long paper chain. They have also used our handwriting skills to write some letters to Santa - especially as they have been very good this year!

Pupils have really enjoyed their Community Participation. They have been shopping in Sainsbury's, where the pupils have been choosing snack items and learning to pack their shopping, transition safely from the bus to the supermarket, behave appropriately inside and learn how to self-checkout. Pupils have also walked to the local shops and cafe regularly. The children's behaviour and wellbeing has been outstanding. All seven Phase 2 classes have enjoyed a Christmas outing to places such as Ruxley Manor, Ice Skating, Visiting Father Christmas and Ash Church.

Reverend Jim presented a beautiful and sensory Christingle service to all pupils and very creatively explained the meaning of Christingle and what each part represents using his gym kit!

Several pupils continue to benefit for small group and 1:1 interventions such as Beanstalk Reading and Lego Therapy.

Mountain class have enjoyed a term of swimming. In Term 2 we will be welcoming a new teacher Laura Jayne Moll who will cover Katie Morez’s maternity leave in Field class. Well done Phase 2. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in 2016! Michelle Hilton Assistant Principal and Director of Phase Two

Phase 3

Sparta Class have had a busy term learning about Charles Dickens and using new ways to make our writing more interesting. We concluded our work with the visit to Dickens world. This term students have been taking part in Land Based Studies or visiting Bore Place with lots of opportunities for outdoor learning about the environment and conservation. We have been looking at ‘Celebrations’ in our theme work and how Christmas is celebrated across the globe - including how the Japanese eat KFC for their festive lunch! - Simon Stanton Viking Class have also been learning about the life of Charles Dickens and studying one of his famous books; ‘A Christmas Carol.’ The students have been discussing and writing about the different characters in the book and have been using different adjectives to describe them. The theme we have been exploring this term is ‘Celebrations’ including Christmas around the word and the Nativity story in RE. The students particularly enjoyed exploring props and food from around the world as well as role play opportunities. - Noleen Donaghy Saxon Class have continued to work upon their individualised curriculum and have been exploring the theme of ‘Celebrations’ in Term 2. The students began by learning about the Hindu festival of Diwali and enjoyed making and tasting a variety of Indian foods and decorated brightly coloured rangoli patterns. Saxon class then began to explore Christmas cerebrations and traditions and have produced some wonderful Christmas crafts. - Sam Marlow Roman Class have been working upon individual targets and have been getting ready for Christmas! This year we performed the Nativity for Phase 3 and 4, with our two wise men and one wiser woman, the narrator is a donkey and the gifts also have a twist! At the end of term we went ice skating at Bluewater, where the staff were rather grateful to have the wheelchairs to cling to. With all the lights and sounds in the Winter Wonderland there the students loved it! - Natalie Snuggs

Norman Class have been making animations in ICT and the students have been developing their understanding of eating healthily by making soups in Food Technology. This has also helped develop their cutting and peeling skills. In RE the students have been learning more about the Bible and they have been looking closely at different stories from the Old and New Testament - Emma Mason and Julie Crothall Tudor class have continued to work towards their individual curriculum targets in Term 2. On 10th December Tudor class went to the ‘Christmas around the World’ exhibition at Hever Castle. The students enjoyed a walk around the beautiful gardens, some areas had snow effects, Christmas lights and other displays. We even met Henry VIII in the castle after lunch and he told us about Tudor clothes and the history of the castle. We all had a lovely day! - Sarah Haggerty

As well as working towards personalised targets, Jurassic Class have been enjoying our weekly community participation at Sainsbury's, buying our breakfast club food and food technology ingredients. We are becoming increasingly independent shoppers. In food technology we have been cooking flapjack, cookies, pancakes, shortbread and gingerbread. We have enjoyed rebound therapy in PE and our Aqua Learn sessions especially the cold hose and the new inflatable crocodile! - Zoe Webb Wishing you all a lovely Christmas and a happy beginning to the New Year! Noleen Donaghy, Phase 3 Leader and the Phase 3 Team

Phase 4

As Term 2 draws to a close everyone in the department is getting very excited for Christmas. With Christmas dinner, parties, trips out and the nativity assembly, everyone is going to be busy right up to the end of the term. Dover Castle class has had a very busy and exciting second term! Most recently, we enjoyed a visit to Rochester where we visited the High Street, had a lovely guided tour of the Cathedral, and enjoyed a very grown-up three-course pizza lunch. Throughout the term, we have been learning about a range of topics: In citizenship, we have been considering the Migrant Crisis and the reasons that people seek to become migrants or refugees. This has led to some very good discussions for all of us. In Personal, Social, and Health Education, we have been learning about the issues that come along with adolescence. Our core subject work in English and Maths has been no less interesting. We have been developing some very creative, unique stories in English, and developing our use of phrase-building, punctuation, and story development. In Maths, we have started our work on mastering the four operations, and our focus has been on division and multiplication. We are very excited for the New Year, and would like to wish everyone the best for the upcoming holidays. Rochester class have had a busy term preparing for their entry level functional skills exams which they will sit early in January. They have also enjoyed spending their Thursdays at Parents Consortium, where they have been practicing life skills such as cooking a meal, changing and making beds, cleaning bathrooms washing and ironing. Now they are looking forward to our Christmas outing at Jump Giants and TGI Fridays. Canterbury Castle class have been focussing on celebrations this term, looking at celebrations across different countries and religions. In DT the students have made bags, firstly from paper and then by recycling T-shirts. PSHE lessons have focussed on relationships and the differences between male and female while in food technology everyone has had an opportunity to make a mini Christmas cake as well as other traditional food for Christmas. Maths has focussed on number and shape and English has considered factual writing and in particular newspapers. To bring us up to Christmas the students spent time reporting on the story told in the Sainsbury Christmas advert, including putting headlines to photographs and writing about Mog’s experiences. Christmas is coming and Hever have enjoyed a visit to bowling and lunch in Pizza Hut, learning about practicing money skills and coping with unfamiliar places. The previously planned trip to The Clink will now go ahead later in the year when the evenings are lighter. There has been a change of TAs this term following Linden leaving for pastures new and both Alison and Katie have provided us with excellent support and Alison can now legally eat our biscuits. It's been a full pelt term, we have used emojis in English to create action comics, in Maths we have been learning about 2 and 3 dimensional shapes and our Friday speaking and listening quiz is balanced on a knife edge between Alison's team and Katie's team. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and an even more exciting 2,016. Please can I say a huge thank you to everyone who has invested in Team Enterprise shares and supported Leeds class with the Christmas Fayre. We have sold 200 shares and made a profit of over £150 at the fayre. The students have worked hard to make a variety of items to sell and each and every one of them has contributed in their own way. Please look out for out next consignment of exciting products and we look forward to bringing new ideas in the New Year.

Merry Christmas from all in Leeds class. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and students for their hard work and parents for their continued support. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and healthy and happy New Year.

Liesl Andersson, Phase 4 Leader

Sixth Form

As we come to the end of Term 2 we wold like to celebrate the learning that has taken place in the past two terms. The year 14 students have been learning about their work experience options and some have started their placements already. The year 13 students have been continuing their learning through their vocational courses which this year are Sport and Healthy Living led by Steve Devereux, Construction led by Richard Allwright, a new course for us this year, and Hair and Beauty which two students access at Rowhill School. The year 12 students have made fantastic profits selling Christmas merchandise that they have made as part of their enterprise projects, learning to follow instructions to carry out a task and work together as a team. The horticulture students have been preparing the grounds for winter and many students have accessed Bore Place as part of their work related learning, again, learning essential skills such as working together and learning how to work safely. Some 6th form students have accessed MEAPA gym if appropriate alongside recreation activities such as Zumba, tennis, swimming and boxercise. All classes have enjoyed trips into the community with two Phase 4 classes so far this year accessing public transport and learning how to recognise the correct bus or train to access. All students also enjoyed Christmas Dinner and some went to special assemblies such as the great Nativity assembly led by Romans Class and Christingle. Some students at Milestone@Wilmington attended the annual Tea Dance led by 6th form students at Wilmington with visitors from local care homes. A great afternoon was had by all. Alongside all these excellent inclusion opportunities, all Phase 4 students have been completing accreditation portfolios and where appropriate exam practice for those due to sit functional skills exams in January and February, just showing the excellent learning that is integral to each day. Sadly as we come to the end of this term, we say goodbye to Tracey Stringer who has been a teacher in the 6th Form at Milestone for over five years. She will be sorely missed but we wish her all the best as she takes up the new challenge of caring for her granddaughter, something that we are sure she will enjoy almost as much as she has enjoyed working at Milestone! As usual none of the above would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our staff. On behalf of them thank you for your continued support. Best Wishes for a ‘Merry Christmas’ and all the best for 2016. Janet Tidmas Assistant Principal & Director of Phase 4

Dance

Over the last two terms the dance students from the FE Arts Carousel have been learning all about life in the 1960s and the differences between then and now. We looked at how fashions have changed including hairstyles, clothes and music alongside exploring dance moves such as ‘The Swim’ and ‘The Monkey’. The group presented their findings to their peers from the Art and Music departments using a PowerPoint presentation that two of the students had prepared. The visitors had the chance to experience playing games such as ‘Juke Box Jury’ and could learn some of the dances from that era. Jenny Garwood, Dance

Therapy Team

Supporting children's speech, language and communication needs is a whole school responsibility. Having completed a review of our current provision, we have joined the Balanced System's Scheme for Schools which will enable us to develop provision for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) at a whole school and individual learner level, in line with the new SEND Code of Practice 0-25 and OFSTED requirements. This work will take us one year to complete and will lead to accreditation for Milestone Academy. Further information can be found at http://www.bettercommunication.org.uk/the-balanced-system-for-schools/

It was lovely to meet parents at the ASD coffee afternoon. We will be hosting a 'Therapy Coffee morning' next year. This will be a chance to meet the speech & language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Do let us know if there is anything specific you would like us to cover. The new Milestone Academy Core Signs manual created for school and home is now complete. Copies are available for anyone to buy from http://www.signalong.org.uk/ If you click on the copy of the manual on the Signalong website it will give you a list of the vocabulary within the manual. Also, on the school web page there are videos of signs being performed and also signs for Advent where you can see lots of signs related to Christmas.

Merry Christmas Wishes from us all in the Therapy Team.

Liz Skilton, Speech and Language Therapist/Therapy Team Leader

Nurse

Dear Parents Please note that I will no longer be ordering or amending any pad orders for pupils living within or outside of the area because the volume of children requiring pads is too great. The continence service from the NHS will be running a monthly clinic within school and inviting you to attend when your re-assessment is due. Their contacts are Di or Alison on 01322 622327. Sleep Clinic I will be holding a sleep clinic for parents and carers on Friday 5th February starting at 10am until around 11.30/12.00. There will be a short presentation on sleep and time for questions and individual discussions regarding your child's sleep difficulties. Please let me know if you would like to attend on 01474 709420 extension 6. Toilet Training Clinic I will be holding a toilet training workshop for parents and carers on Tuesday 9th February from 10am until 12pm. There will be a presentation and discussion around toileting of children with special needs. I am hoping other continence support workers and possibly the nappy service will also join us. Please contact me if you wish to attend on 01474 709420 extension 6. Best Wishes Joyce Chick, Nurse Manager and Dan Lowery

PE Department

Kent School Games Rowing Event Six students from Phase 3 and 4 competed at the KSG Indoor Rowing event on Wednesday 9

th December. Should the team

qualify they will take part in the all Kent finals later next year. Archery Taster Day Students from Phase 3 and 4 classes will experience taking part in Archery on Monday 14

th December. Qualified Archery

coaches will oversee activities and allow children an opportunity to learn a new sport and new skills linked to Archery. The day will be run as part of the Sportivate Project on behalf of Kent Sport. Bonnie Maugey

Congratulations to FE student Bonnie Maugey who won the under 20’s Girls Kent Cross Country Event for her running club, the Dartford Harriers. She now qualifies for the national event. Well done Bonnie! Beaming Stars Gymnastics Primary students have been taking part in weekly gymnastics sessions run by qualified coaches aimed at improving agility, balance and co-ordination. This will run for the course of the academic year and is funded through the Primary Sports Premium. Feedback on the sessions has been very encouraging and all students have been enjoying taking part. Wishing you a very happy Christmas.

Steve Devereux, PE Co-ordinator

Music

This term we have had so much fun in Music with our great array of drums, keyboards and of course voices. We have some seriously good signers, rock drummers and keyboard players in the school. We enjoyed fun with Halloween and Guy Fawkes events and have been listening to sound effects and making up our own. Our first public performance took place on December 1

st in the ‘9 Lessons and Carols’ celebration where three other local schools;

Hartley Primary, Steephill Primary and Fawkham Primary also performed. Ocean class represented Milestone at this lovely event with a song, written especially for them, called ‘The Bells for Peace’. They played hand bells and sang along with the lead singers Harley and Tracey who also signed as they sang! We’ve been looking forward to next term when we will start to think about the music, dance and art of Brazil and all the activities the Olympic Games has to offer. May I wish everybody a very peaceful and Happy Christmas.

Lesley Stewart, Music Teacher

Environmental Land Based Studies

This term my FE construction group have finished their picture frames, planned the construction of the shed base and dug it out. We have also looked at how concrete is made and used. LBS Year 1 have been very productive looking at Health and Safety including PPE, potting up seedlings to find out what they grow into, looking at communication and leading a team (taking turns to lead). We have pruned raspberry bushes and put mulch or manure on the plant beds. LBS Year 2 have been creating waste posters to find out how different waste can be recycled. They have also been pruning and using the cuttings to grow more currant plants. From this they have created instruction booklets to guide others. Wishing you a happy Christmas.

Richard Allwright, Land Based Studies Teacher

LEAVERS AND STARTERS

LEAVERS We wish a fond farewell to Julie Crothall who after 12 ½ years teaching at Milestone is moving to a school closer to home. Also retiring after 4 years of teaching is Tracey Stringer. Goodbye also to: Michelle Troy - Teacher

STARTERS

We will be welcoming three new teachers in September: Laura-Jayne Moll Sarah Holliday and Ellie Orbell Welcome to Milestone

School Uniform Ordering Information. Dear Parent, We have made some changes to improve the system for supplying school uniform. You can now order and pay for school uniform online from School Trends. To get to the Milestone section you can either:

a) Follow the link on the Milestone Website, under “Academy Life” and then “Uniform”. b) by typing in the link

http://www.schooltrendsonline.com/schools/MilestoneAcademyDA38LZ/ c) Alternatively visit www.schooltrendsonline.com then select ‘Find My School’ and

follow the order instructions. You can either pay online or if you prefer, you can order online and send a cheque to the address below.

School Trends 10 Carley Drive Westfield Sheffield S20 8NQ Alternatively, if you do not have access to the internet you can collect an order form from school and order by post. There are no minimum order quantities and your uniform will be delivered directly to your chosen address. As well as our approved decorated school uniform, you are also able to order plain items such as trousers, skirts and shirts. Other ordering information including sizes, delivery information and the returns procedure is also available online. We hope you will find using this new service an improvement in our school uniform supply. Yours sincerely Stuart Norris Business Manager

Thank you to all who have supported the Friends of Milestone this year. We have had a very successful year, raising funds and putting on events for the children and families. Our Christmas Draw raised over £600 and the prizes distributed. Congratulations to Harvey Palmer, 1st prize of Liz Earle beauty hamper, Tyler Jenman, 2nd prize of a meal for two at the Railway Inn, Sole Street, and 3rd prize of a Christmas hamper to Mrs Catling. Wishing everyone a fun filled Christmas and happy and peaceful New Year

Lyn French Secretary Friends of Milestone

Term 1

Staff Training – Wednesday 2nd, Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September 2015

School opens Monday 7th September 2015

School closes Friday 23rd October 2015

Holiday

Monday 26th October to Friday 30th October 2015

Term 2

School opens Monday 2nd November 2015

School closes Thursday 17th December 2015

Holiday

Friday 18th December 2015 to Friday 1st January 2016

Term 3

School opens Monday 4th January 2016

School closes Wednesday 10th February 2016

Staff training - Thursday 11th and Friday 12th February 2016

Holiday

Monday 15th February to Friday 19th February 2016

Term 4

School opens Monday 22nd February 2016

School closes Thursday 24th March 2016

Holiday

Friday 25th March to Friday 8th April 2016

Term 5

Bank holiday Monday 2nd May 2016

School opens on Monday 11th April 2016

School closes Friday 27th May 2016

Holiday

Monday 30th May to Friday 3rd June 2016

Term 6

School opens Monday 6th June 2016

School closes Friday 22nd July 2016

Holiday

Monday 25th July to Friday 2nd September 2016 (subject to change)

Staff Training 2015-2016

Wednesday 2nd September 2015

Thursday 3rd September 2015

Friday 4th September 2015

Thursday 11th February 2016

Friday 12th February 2016

TERM DATES 2015-16

Working in partnership

The Scout Association Registered Charity Numbers 306101 (England and Wales) and SC038437 (Scotland).