Our local family magazine Raring2go! has gone on line during the pandemic! This winter issue brings you lots of fun things to do locally and at home in your bubble this Christmas.
You can view it online HERE.
One of our favourite activities in Room 8 is ‘The bucket time’.
Attention Autism is an intervention model designed by Gina Davies, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. It aims to develop natural and spontaneous communication through the use of visually based and highly motivating activities.
This activity helps the children in Room 8:
The Attention Autism programme progresses through a series of stages, building on each skill level. Each new stage is introduced when the group is ready to expand attention skills. Room 8 has reached stage 3.
Stage 1: The Bucket to Focus Attention
Our purple bucket is filled with visually engaging objects and toys, aiming to gain the shared attention of the group.
First, a song is sung: ‘I’ve got something in my bucket, in my bucket, in my bucket. I’ve got something in my bucket, I wonder what it is?”
Next, the adult leader shows each item to the group and uses simple repetitive vocabulary to comment on the various objects. Our favourites are the naughty monkey, the pig, and the horn.
Stage 2: The Attention Builder
Visually stimulating activities are shown to the group by the adult leader, aiming to sustain attention for a longer period. The activities are fun, visually engaging and can often involve delightful mess! The favourite in room 8 is “Splash the cake!’.
Stage 3: Turn taking and Re-engaging Attention
The adult leader demonstrates a simple activity, often modelled with another adult in the group. Some children are then invited to have a turn, but only if they are comfortable to do so.
The children in our group get a turn, which then teaches important emotional regulation skills, as well as the essential skills of waiting, turn-taking and learning through modelling. I could say the favourite activities have been ‘Make your cake – Halloween party’, ‘The bread shop’ and ‘Choose an instrument’.
So far, the Bucket time sessions have been fun and “offered an irresistible invitation to learn”!
We have been having lots of fun in Rm 11 recently. Children have been enjoying participating in a range of the activities around the story “The very hungry caterpillar”. We have been tasting different foods, using different resources to paint caterpillars and enjoying messy play!
We have also remembered to celebrate Bonfire and had a great fun splashing balloons filled with paint onto a big sheet of paper and creating lovely fireworks!
What is Child Winter Heating Assistance?
Child Winter Heating Assistance is an annual payment to children and young people with disabilities to support with the increased costs of heating their homes in Winter.
Families who meet the criteria and are eligible will receive a payment of £200. The payment is made per individual rather than per household which means there are no limits to the number of children per family who can receive this payment. If a child or young person receives the qualifying benefits for one day in the qualifying week, they will get this payment.
Whilst Child Winter Heating Assistance is intended for paying those increased winter fuel costs, clients do not need to provide evidence that the money was spent on fuel bills.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for Child Winter Heating Assistance the following criteria must be met ;
– a child or young person must receive the highest rate care component of DLA child in the qualifying week. The qualifying week for Child Winter Heating Assistance is the 3rd week in September each year. This year, the qualifying week was Monday 21 September to Sunday 27 September 2020.
– be resident in Scotland*
As long as someone is getting the highest rate care component of DLA Child on any day of the qualifying week, they will get the payment.
If a client is awarded a backdated payment of the higher rate care component of DLA Child at a later date for the qualifying week, they will need to contact Social Security Scotland to let us know. We can then process the Child Winter Heating Assistance payment.
How to apply
There is no need to apply for Child Winter Heating Assistance. We will use information provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. People will automatically get this payment annually, as long as they remain eligible.
Clients will get a letter in advance of the payment. This will let them know that they will be receiving a payment and telling them why. As highlighted earlier, the payment is made per individual rather than per household, meaning each eligible child in the household will receive a payment.
Payments will be made from the week commencing 23 November. The payment will be made to the same account as the clients DLA child payment. We will be making payments in batches and everyone should get their Child Winter Heating Assistance by Friday 11 December.
For further information about Child Winter Heating Assistance you can visit MyGov.scot or contact the local Relationship Lead noted below.
Aberdeen City Local Relationship Lead – Lisa Buchan email: lisa.buchan@socialsecurity.gov.scot Tel: 07341 790184
Please find below an updated version of the Orchard Brae Covid-19 Risk Assessment. All updates have been highlighted in green.
Guidance has also been given around the use of clear face masks.
Both of these documents can also be found on the Covid-19 website page. https://orchardbrae.aberdeen.sch.uk/covid-19/
Tonight, we are delighted to bring you a new bedtime story.
This story is one of Room 8’s favourites and is read by the class teacher and a very special helper.
Remember, you can always look back at our previous stories on our new Orchard Brae YouTube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTu54C_q3kCJsdSO8mlIonw
So get comfy and cuddle up because it’s time for a new Bedtime Story. Tonight’s story is…
The Paper Dolls (written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb)
A string of paper dolls go on a fantastical adventure through the house and out into the garden. They soon escape the clutches of the toy dinosaur and the snapping jaws of the oven-glove crocodile, but then a very real pair of scissors threatens.
This festive season, our expressive arts elves – sorry, team 🧑🎄 – have been busy supporting classes in creating videos for a Christmas Countdown Calendar. However, for the final video they need your help!
They are looking for as many people as possible to be involved in the ‘Rockin Around The Christmas Tree’ video including all staff, parents and partner agencies.
To get you started, Keith and Emmeline have filmed an example including makaton signing.
To get involved we would like you to film excerpts of yourself signing or dancing along with the song which will then be edited together to create the final window on the Orchard Brae advent calendar.
Here is some filming information on the best way to film your excerpt.
Once you have your final video, please email it to Keith or Emmeline via their gw emails:
Room 6 had a great time during the week of Hallowe’en!
Early in the week we made our own pumpkin – we scraped out the seeds, drew a number 6 on one side and a face on the other, cut them both out and then put our pumpkin in the school “pumpkin patch”.
On the Friday we had a Hallowe’en party!! We dressed up and played Hallowe’en games. We played dookin’ for apples and bagel on a string. No-one wanted to stop bagel on a string – maybe because the bagel had biscoff on it!!
Please find below a letter to all parents and carers from Caroline Stirton, Executive Head Teacher.
With Scott, room 2 have been learning the skills involved in Orienteering.
We all enjoy learning outside; following the route; looking for the orienteering flags in the playground; being first to find the flag; selecting the flag numbers (and correct colour) and matching them to the appropriate number on the orienteering board.
Room 2’s class team are very proud of all the pupils and how quickly they have learnt the skills involved.
