October 2023
This month we are delighted to award Student of the Month to Ace a pupil at Kidbrooke Park Primary.
CENMAC Specialist Teaching Assistant James Dewar-Hassan said that Ace has been doing excellent work using Clicker since starting in Year 4.
Emma Dale-Emberton, SENCO at Kidbrooke Park Primary said “Ace is a good speller and reader but a very reluctant writer. He struggles with letter formation and keeping his writing on the line and it can be hard to read his work. This can make him reluctant to start work and make him frustrated. Ace now understands the amount of work he is capable of producing when using his laptop and this has raised his self-esteem.”
Ace said “I am good on the computer. I like using First Keys. I am thrilled to win this award. I am looking forward to seeing my photo in the newsletter. My Mum and Dad are very proud of me for using my laptop to produce good work.
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to Ace
November 2023
This month we are delighted to award Student of the Month to pupil ‘L’ at Reay Primary School.
Veronika Andraskova, Inclusion Lead at Reay Primary said “Our pupil ‘L’ is simply magnificent. She is determined, spirited and never gives up. No challenge is too big for her.”
CENMAC’s Deputy Team Leader Mary Long said “Pupil ‘L’ is an amazing student, who always tries her best, no matter what the task. She listens to advice given by staff and always tries to follow instructions so that she can improve her work. She has recently been using the Apple Pencil to write straight onto worksheets on the iPad in maths lessons and has adapted to this really quickly. She is also working really hard at perfecting her touch-typing technique, which will become an essential skill for her as she moves through Key Stage 2, and onwards to secondary school.”
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to pupil ‘L’
December 2023
We’re delighted to award the December Student of the Month to Luke a student at St Mary Magdalene C of E All Through School.
Advisory Teacher Ber Allee said “Luke has demonstrated being very engaged with the support offered by CENMAC. He is excited about using assistive technology and sees clearly how it will have an impact on his future.
Luke wants to use Dragon and is training himself in the use of the software. Hopefully he will use Dragon when taking part in his GCSE’s exam later on this year. Each time I have visited him at St Mary Magdalene he has been a pleasure to work with and has always been extremely polite.”
Student Luke said “Education without understandable material and means to write it is not education and is pointless.”
Melissa Graham, SENCO said ” Luke embraces his learning 100% always. He has a thirst for knowledge and the use of technology has helped him to further his education”.
Congratulations Luke!
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to Luke
January 2024
Happy New Year! This month we are celebrating the achievements of all the children and young people who were awarded Student of the Month in 2023.
We have been so impressed by the way they have learnt to use the assistive technology (AT) and/or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to help them access the curriculum and/or communicate.
We look forward to seeing what they achieve in 2024!
Congratulations to:
- Charlie at Gordon Primary School – February 2023
- Jade at Charlton Park Academy – March 2023
- Shahad at Notre Dame Girls School – April 2023
- Ruth K at Pimlico Academy – May 2023
- Perez at Lyndhurst Primary School – June 2023
- Gaby at St Pauls CofE Primary School – July 2023
- Ace at Kidbrooke Park Primary – October 2023
- Pupil ‘L’ at Reay Primary School – November 2023
- Luke at St Mary Magdalene CofE All Through School – December 2023
CENMAC’s Student of the Month Award
February 2024
We’re delighted to award the February 2024 Student of the Month to Zion at student at St Thomas the Apostle College.
Zion is a dedicated Year 11 student currently preparing for his GCSE studies. Zion was finding writing very difficult and was struggling to access his curriculum due to fine and gross motor skills delay. CENMAC was contacted to support Zion and since receiving his technology in primary school, Zion has determinedly learned to use all the tools available to him in order to support his learning. He regularly receives praise from the school staff for his outstanding attitude towards his studies. Notably, his outstanding use of his technology has not gone unnoticed, with teachers commending Zion for making use of his technology in the classroom and at home.
Zion has made a genuine positive, impact within the school community. His amicable nature has earned him popularity not only among peers but also among teachers. He regularly spends time in the SEN base helping and supporting the younger students.
Zion uses his laptop in every single lesson. He says that he doesn’t know what he would do without it now. He is proficient at using a range of tools, including typing, Microsoft Dictation and Immersive Reader and has used his skills to enable him to secure a place at CTK Emmanuel College next year where he will study a Level 3 in Health and Social Care. His kind, caring and supportive nature definitely makes this an excellent choice of career path for him and we can’t wait to see where the future takes Zion!
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to Zion
March 2024
We’re very happy to award our Student of the Month for March to pupil Evie at Ivydale Primary School.
Evie was nominated by Advisory Teacher Maureen De Longhi who said “When we first started supporting Evie she felt a little bit nervous and upset especially when it came to typing as she is quite sensitive to touch. In an effort to overcome this challenge, she decided to explore Dragon Voice Typing. Despite her initial apprehension, Evie approached the training with remarkable enthusiasm and determination. Evie adapted extremely quickly to the program, completing it confidently and showcasing her resilience in overcoming technology-related anxiety. This positive experience highlighted Evie’s resolve to overcome challenges associated with her sensitivities and she demonstrates real skill using her new technology. She reported that she was ‘delighted’ with her new skills!”
Congratulations Evie! We’re very proud of you!
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to Evie
May 2024
We’re are delighted to award our Student of the Month to Moritz a student at Elm Court School.
Advisory Teacher David Howard said “I am pleased to nominate Moritz as our Student of the Month. His remarkable qualities and dedication have truly stood out during our time working together. Despite the challenges he faces, Moritz maintains an unwavering positivity and drive to excel. When I introduced him to assistive technology, I witnessed firsthand the positive impact it had on his learning experience. Moritz’s ambition and commitment to achieving his best are truly inspiring. I have no doubt that he will continue to thrive and make significant contributions in the future.”
Moritz said “I really enjoy using my assistive technology because it is helping me engage in my lessons and other reading tasks, and making me more confident to participate in discussions as I can read and understand my work much more quickly.”
Tutor “Moritz is a very hard-working, creative and considerate student, his assistive technology supports his visual access to class materials. There has been a marked improvement both in his engagement in lessons and his work since he was given his assistive technology. I am hopeful that using this tech will continue to improve Moritz’s confidence both in school and at home.”
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to Moritz
June 2024
Earlier this month we held our annual event Communication Works at the Charlton Athletic Football Club. This is a great opportunity for the children and young people that CENMAC supports to demonstrate the achievements they have made using their assistive technology and/or augmentative and alternative communication.
So, this month we would like to award Khamani, Amimul, Ruth and Bella Rose as our Students of the Month for their amazing presentation skills and having the courage to get up on stage in front of our large crowd of visitors. The presence of these students really helped to make it a great day and our visitors got to see for themselves the amazing impact having access to the right technology makes to our students’ self–confidence, independence, communication and literacy skills. We are all very proud of them!
CENMAC’s Student of the Month Award
Khamani
Khamani is currently studying Film and TV at Nine Elms college and has an incredibly positive outlook to everything he does.
Khamani aspires to be a TV presenter when he leaves college. Khamani was our amazing MC for the day at Communication Works. He introduced the speakers, made all the announcements throughout the day, ran the raffle and created a warm and friendly atmosphere in the exhibition hall. We are sure that Khamani will achieve all the goals he sets for himself as he is driven, motivated and is very charismatic! Thank you MC Khamani!
Khamani
Amimul
Amimul is a 20-year-old student at Lewisham College. He has been receiving support from CENMAC since 2011, when he was in primary school. Throughout his journey with CENMAC, Amimul has been able to try many different types of Assistive technology and has always been honest on his preferences. Today Amimul is using an iPad Pro mounted to his wheelchair and uses it for both communication and curriculum access.
In the summer term of 2022, Amimul began weekly one-on-one sessions with Abdi Omar, CENMAC’s AAC consultant, who mentors and coaches students. These sessions have significantly boosted Amimul’s self-confidence.
During his presentation at Communication Works, Amimul shared insights into his journey with CENMAC and highlighted the positive impact of assistive technology (particularly the text-based communication app called Predictable) on his education and life. Amimul was one of the highlights of the event and received many praises after his presentation.
Amimul
Ruth
Ruth is an amazing example of incredible talent, innovation, and courage in adversity. She has a real flair for writing having written her own poetry as well as her own book of stories and anecdotes which is wonderful and heart-warming. Many young people would have found it daunting to present to a large room of visitors. But not Ruth!
Ruth’s presentation at Communication Works went beyond her poetic talents. She also demonstrated the technology she uses, showcasing the remarkable journey she has undertaken from the age of 5 when she was given her first computer and tracker ball. This technology has been instrumental in enhancing her ability to communicate and express herself, allowing her creative voice to shine even brighter and have a transformative impact on her life and learning.
Ruth gave us all a powerful reminder of the importance of independence and the role of technology in breaking down barriers and demonstrating her limitless potential.
I felt so incredibly proud of Ruth and would like to take this opportunity also to that her amazing mum and dad for attending the event with her, and to her support staff at Pimlico Academy who helped to make it happen. I am sure we will be hearing from Ruth again. I certainly hope so!
Ruth
Bella Rose
Bella has been using assistive technology to support the recording of her learning, and visual access to the curriculum since 2022.
At Communication Works Bella presented her views on how the use of technology has assisted her in achieving what she wants to do.
Bella is incredibly creative and she spoke about having so many ideas stuck in her head that she couldn’t get down onto paper. Since using technology, Bella has found that she can be much more creative, and also work more independently, which has given her a real confidence boost. Bella said that she has gone from never wanting to draw or write, to wanting to draw and write all the time!
Bella enjoyed presenting so much that she has requested to return to speak at other events!
Bella Rose
July 2024
We are delighted to award our July Student of the Month to Freya a pupil at R J Mitchell Primary School. CENMAC Specialist TA Tracy Evans said “Freya was recently re-introduced to eye gaze for her access to communication. She embraced it and amazed everyone around her with her dedication, enthusiasm and excitement.
Freya is now able to answer questions in school and not have to have someone ‘translate’ for her. Freya has joined weekly sessions online with CENMAC’s AAC Consultant Abdi Omar and another CENMAC pupil called Blythe. Freya has enjoyed meeting Blythe a new friend who is similar to herself.
Freya attended Communication Works and is already looking forward to the next one. She has even made the journey from Havering to Charlton Park Academy to try out the Drive Deck using eye gaze to control it.
It is a pleasure working with Freya and I am looking forward to joining with her next year as she learns to record her school work with her eye gaze.”
Elizabeth McLellan, SENCO at R J Mitchell Primary School said “Freya has shown immense determination and resilience in using her eye gaze device throughout her school day. She is growing in confidence and sharing her wonderful, funny personality when using the device by cracking jokes and testing us on our maths skills. Occasionally, Freya may become frustrated but she never lets it stop her! We are all so impressed and proud of Freya!”
Sonia Sylvester, SENCO at R J Mitchell Primary School said “We are very proud of how much Freya has blossomed over the last few months in particular, and how she has come into her own with the eye gaze.”
CENMAC’s Student of the Month is awarded
to Freya
