Throughout the day, every day, our pupils in Rm 2 are developing their independence skills – these photos show them developing their skills with very little or no prompting from an adult.
National charity Family Fund is urging low-income families in Scotland, with disabled or seriously ill children or young people aged 0-17, to apply for grants to help them through the remaining winter months and the challenging ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The charity has just received additional funding of £300,000 from the Scottish Government, to support an extra 600 families across Scotland.
Provided under the Scottish Government’s Winter Support Fund 2021, the funding is designed to help families on low incomes who are struggling financially with extra disability related costs, seasonal costs and wider pressures. The timing is welcome, as 79% of families of disabled children in Scotland who responded to a recent survey by Family Fund stated they could not currently afford to replace or repair a major electrical item such as a washing machine.
Cheryl Ward, Chief Executive of Family Fund, said:
“We greatly welcome this funding, which will enable us to provide essential, practical items for low income families raising a disabled child, throughout these difficult winter months.
“It’s a recognition of the significantly higher costs that the families we support face, who should all have a right to an adequate standard of living, rather than poverty and debt.”
Family Fund is the UK’s largest grant-making charity for disabled and seriously ill children and has over 40 years’ experience of supporting families on low incomes so they can have the same opportunities as others. The charity provides grants for essential items such as kitchen appliances, clothing, warm bedding, sensory toys and equipment, computers and tablets, much-needed family breaks and more.
Eligible families in Scotland are encouraged to apply as soon as possible by visiting Grants: Scotland | Family Fund or calling 01904 550055.
ReCHarge Cafe, Bon Accord Centre, Aberdeen
10am, Thursday 27th January
Following the announcement of the relaxation of the COVID rules earlier this week we would be delighted if you can come along to meet in person at the ReCHarge Cafe in the Bon Accord Centre, for tea / coffee and cake!
We have booked a large table so there will be room for us to space ourselves out. We also note that we are still being asked to take a lateral flow test before meeting with others.
We hope that this might become a regular event giving us all the chance to meet other parents and carers from Orchard Brae in person until such time that we can return to meeting at school.
Please find details of the Aberdeen City schools telephone information service for parents/guardians. This is the Schools Information Line.
The main features of this service are:
To be used to inform parents/guardians of emergency arrangements and important announcements, e.g. early closure arising from adverse weather conditions/failure of heating systems.
The system also has the potential to record brief messages of a routine nature from parents/guardians. You will be advised at a later date if this feature is to be activated.
This could hold routine information for parents/guardians, e.g. the times for a Parents’ Night, School Concert details, etc.
Parents/Guardians can access these features by dialling this National Rate number:
Tel: 0870 054 1999
A Council message will be heard followed by a request for a six-digit PIN number specific to their child’s school.
The Pin Number for Orchard Brae School is 011890.
Once connected, a voice will speak out the name of the school and a series of prompts will guide the caller to the appropriate option. The cost of calls is no more than 10p/call (landline calls). You can also check school closure status on the School Closure page on the Aberdeen City Council website. Please use the link below:
Orchard Brae Advent Calendar: Day 24
We’ve reached the final day of our advent calendar and there is only 1 more sleep to go! For our final advent treat, we are delighted to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our advent calendar.
Orchard Brae Advent Calendar: Day 23
Only 2 more sleeps until Christmas and today we bring you a special festive message from our Head Teacher, Elaine.
Orchard Brae Advent Calendar: Day 22
It’s the first day of the Christmas holidays!!! Today, we bring you a festive treat from the pupils and staff in the Nursery @Howes Road.
Room 4 have been getting into the Christmas spirit. We have been doing lots of activities to explore Christmas. Have a look at our Christmas wreaths and our Christmas tree.
This week, our weekly story was ‘Sneezy the Snowman’ by Maureen Wright. In this story, Sneezy the Snowman is cold. In trying to warm up, he makes choices that are not in his best interest! Room 8 found the humour in this story as they realized that the choices made have a negative consequence. This was a good way to talk about choices with the children. The story is also written with rhyming words which can help children develop listening and literacy skills.
There were a lot of fun, learning activities that were inspired by this book. Through hands-on activities, children:
• Developed visual discernment skills in playing snowman matching games
• Used higher level thinking and problem-solving skills to describe why their snowman melted when creating their own melted snowman during Science and followed the pattern to recreate Sneeze’s red and blue scarf.
• Discovered the ‘life cycle’ of a snowman, and snow or ice.
During Science, we made a melting snowman experiment that was both simple and festive. The first step was to mix one glass of baking soda with 1 tbsp of salt, 2 tbsp of hand wash and 4 tbsp of water. Next, we moulded three balls and stacked them. Then we decorated the snowman with paint and twigs. Finally, we used a pipette to add vinegar to the snowman and observed as it slowly melted.
Rm 2 had the best morning when we spontaneously adapted our timetable to have fun in the snow. We wrapped up warmly, gathered the sledges from the shed, played together and had fun.
