Pease find below a PowerPoint presentation on supporting transitions from the Autism Outreach Service.
The Ladybird room children and staff had great fun celebrating Burns Day.
They started off the week by making special Ladybird tartan pictures. On the day itself they had the traditional meal of vegetarian ”haggis, neeps and tatties.” Some children appeared to enjoy it more than others.
We rounded off the celebrations on Friday with children and staff dressing in tartan and dancing to ceilidh music in the hall followed by having a very Scottish teddy bear picnic. All the children had taken in their favourite teddy or soft toy and were able to join us for an indoor picnic of traditional Scottish food such as shortbread, oatcakes, and cheese.
A great end to the week and lots of fun.
Every Tuesday afternoon is a joy for Room 8. It’s Community Cafe time. We all are happy to visit and spend 45 minutes with our friends across the road, boys and girls from Heathryburn School. We all enjoy a warm drink, and there is a choice of different foods each week. It is easy to see that the pupils-host enjoy taking orders, serving food and getting to know other members of the local community and us. The predictable environment with structure and high level of routine along with a package of social learning and interaction help and support our boys and girls to develop their social skills and gain knowledge. Angela, the community café coordinator, is always available for 1-1 support for anyone who would like to discuss any problems.
By accessing this venture, Room 8 was able to develop their communication skills, meet new people and friends, work as part of a team, make a decision, apply functional numeracy and literacy.
We all agree the community café showcases an alternative model of community – where people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities spend time together – socialising, working, creating and enjoying each other’s company.
Thanks very much, Heathryburn School Community Cafe.
Room 12 pupils love their time in PE, with the chance to work on different skills such as balancing, bouncing, throwing and catching, pedalling, spinning. It’s a time to make our bodies move in different ways and enjoy how that feels. It also makes us stronger, faster and healthier.
Thank you to The Makaton Charity for our participation certificate. Huge thanks to the pupils and staff who participated – it is always a joy to take part in The Countdown To Christmas and we can’t wait until next time!
We would like to wish all our pupils, their families, staff and associated colleagues a very happy Christmas. Have a wonderful festive season and t get you in the festive spirit, here are a few videos from our recent Christmas Concert along with our entry for the Evening Express Carol Concert.
Evening Express Carol Concert
Day 7: Room 7
Day 10: Room 10
Day 13: Drumming
Day 15: Room 15
Day 18: Room 18
Day 20: Howes Hoose
Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of the school
New Post
Mrs Karen Gebbie-Smith, Head of Primary will be stepping down to take on another new and exciting role within the ASN service.
Karen started in June 2010 and has given dedicated service to both Woodlands and Orchard Brae Schools and although this is not goodbye, we will miss her not being around school daily. However, I am pleased that we will still be able to call on her skills and knowledge to help support our ever-growing Orchard Brae ASN community.
Karen takes up her new post on January 16th and we wish her all the very best.
Retirement? Really?
Mr Jim Johnston will be leaving his post as class teacher at the end of this term. Jim has worked with many pupils and families and has also given many years of dedicated service to both Orchard Brae and Woodlands Schools.
Orchard Brae staff, pupils and their families will miss Jim with his pupil centred, nurturing approach. However, I am sure you will join us and colleague’s past and present in wishing Jim a long and happy retirement.
Performing Arts
Through the power of technology, we made an appearance at the Evening Express Carol Concert and this year, we also opened the Music Service Concert on Tuesday night. Once again showcasing our talented group of signers, #proudheidie moment!
The adverse weather we have had recently has meant the postponement of our first live Christmas Show in 2 years until Tuesday 20th December, we have limited space in the hall so are only able to allocate 2 tickets per family. I look forward to seeing you then.
And finally, a thank you to you, the whole team in Orchard Brae and our wider community. Despite the many challenges we have faced, we do it together, this has been wonderfully exemplified by the care and thoughtful support provided recently by our neighbours at Heathryburn. I wish them and you all the very best Christmas wishes and look forward to seeing what the new year brings
Elaine
Important Dates
Thursday 22nd December – last day of term
Monday 9th January -return to school
Tuesday 10th January – potential strike day – school closed to all pupils
Monday 13th February – Mid-term holiday
Tuesday 14th February – In-service day – school closed to pupils
Wednesday 15th February – In-service day – school closed to pupils
Room 4 have been working on exploring their mark making skills in class. The children have been making amazing progress with this as you can see.
The pupils have also been exploring different technologies and how we use them. We decided to use a blender to make some tasty smoothies using milk, strawberries and bananas. It passed the taste test!
Did you know there are SUPERHEROES all around us?
Superheroes are ordinary people who do EXTRAORDINARY jobs.
Absolutely anyone can be a SUPERHERO if they want to. All you need is imagination, hard work and lots of kindness.
During this term, we had many activities where we encouraged the children to listen carefully to how that person’s job involves helping others and gave them time to ask questions about what they have heard. We used a selection of photos of ‘Superheroes – people who help us’ in activities as matching pictures/words/sentences. Also, we introduced and explained new vocabulary and encouraged them to listen to each other’s suggestions.
One of our favourites has been the ‘People who help us’ themed role-play – ‘I’m a dentist’, inspiring the children to use the new vocabulary they learned during the topic.
We created a class display, ‘All about our superheroes who help us.’ We had a big poster, ‘You are my superhero’, and we took pictures with all staff around the school that help us daily. We want to say a big ‘Thank you’ to all of them.
The most important activity has been with our superheroes – the parents. We spent one hour singing and dancing, having an excellent time together.
Well done, Room 8!#
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