THANK YOU!

Did you know that today, the 20th of May, is National Thank A Teacher Day?

Here is a very special video to say a massive THANK YOU to all of our teachers who are supporting our pupils throughout this unusual and difficult time.

But as we all know, Orchard Brae would simply not be Orchard Brae without the rest of team, so thank you to all of our Early Years Practitioners, Pupil Support Assistants, instructors and specialists, nursing and Admin team, janitorial and catering staff and last but by no means least, our families who allow us the privilege of working alongside your wonderful children every day.

So today is not just for teachers, it’s for all of you too.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you do.

Music With Emmeline – Wednesday 20th May

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Soundscape: Thunderstorm

Today’s soundscape has a thunderstorm theme. We have provided this picture of a thunderstorm as a visual stimulus but perhaps you would like to close your eyes and imagine your own thunderstorm. Do you have anything at home that reminds you of the sounds in a thunderstorm. Perhaps something for the sound of rain, thunder or lightening.

Please relax, listen to the music, look at the picture, imagine your own thunderstorm and take deep breaths. The thunderstorm will start off gently and gradually develop before it fades away again.

Proud: Part 3 – Verse 2 

Today we are going to learn the second verse of Proud. Here are the words;

Still so many answers I don’t know
Realize that to question is how we grow
So I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I am on my way
Can’t stop me now
And you can do the same

Bedtime Story – Tuesday 19th May

Welcome to tonight’s bedtime story.  Every week night we will bring you a bedtime story for you to watch and listen to.  The stories are read by staff and pupils and we hope you enjoy seeing some familiar faces and hearing some familiar voices.

If you would like to join in and record a new bedtime story to share, please contact Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk for more information.

So get comfy and cuddle up because it’s time for a new Bedtime Story. Tonight’s story is…

Peppa Pig’s Wonderful Weather (written and illustrated by Neville Ashley and Mark Baker)

Join Peppa Pig as she she embarks on a wonderful journey exploring different types of weather and the fun you can have!

Music With Emmeline – Tuesday 19th May

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Round and Round the Drum 

This is a little song with a drum that many pupils enjoy during their sessions. Once we know the song we can experiment with singing it faster and slower as well as loud and quietly. See if you can match your drum playing with the volume of your voice.

Proud: Part 2 – Verse 1

Today we are going to learn the first verse of Proud. The words are;

I look into the window of my mind
Reflections of the fears I know I’ve left behind
I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I am on my way
Can’t stop me now
And you can do the same.

Bedtime Story – Monday 18th May

Welcome to tonight’s bedtime story.  Every week night we will bring you a bedtime story for you to watch and listen to.  The stories are read by staff and pupils and we hope you enjoy seeing some familiar faces and hearing some familiar voices.

If you would like to join in and record a new bedtime story to share, please contact Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk for more information.

So get comfy and cuddle up because it’s time for a new Bedtime Story. Tonight’s story is…

Where The Wild Things Are (written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak)

One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him ‘Wild Thing’ and sends him to bed without his supper.  That night a forest begins to grow in Max’s room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are.  Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins!

Expressive Arts – Week Beginning 18th May

Our Expressive Arts team have been busy creating more videos for you to enjoy at home throughout the week.

They include an art activity from Diane for you to copy, drumming from Keith and a trash band video from Keith and Emmeline as well as information about Sam’s online dance classes.  Don’t forget that Emmeline’s musical activities will be posted daily.

If you would like to share how you have got on with our activities, please send any photos via your child’s teacher, the Orchard Brae School Facebook Messenger page or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk.  Downloading videos from the Orchard Brae School Facebook Messenger page appears to be working again (fingers crossed!) however if you are having any issues, please send them using a free transfer site such as Dropbox or WeTransfer.

Art: Shadow Drawing

Drumming: Session 8 – Duets

Trash Band: Session 5 – We Are, We Are The Trash Band

Dance: Online Classes

Sam is holding two online dance classes this week on Wednesday 6th May and Friday 8th May at 1pm.

Both of these classes will be taking place through his YouTube channel.  You can join in by searching Sam Stephen on YouTube or you can subscribe to his channel by following the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqBDh0VNpocZvdW29VlfPg/

Primary Department Activities – Week Beginning 18th May

Here are some fun activities for you to try at home this week.

If you would like to share how you have got on with our activities, please send any photos via your child’s teacher, the Orchard Brae School Facebook Messenger page or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk.  Downloading videos from the Orchard Brae School Facebook Messenger page appears to be working again (fingers crossed!) however if you are having any issues, please send them using a free transfer site such as Dropbox or WeTransfer.

Story Of The Week: ‘The Snail And The Whale’ By Julia Donaldson

This week’s story is about an adventurous snail who longs to see the the world and his unlikely friendship with a whale.

Click below to watch and listen to the story:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000cslw/the-snail-and-the-whale

The book study below has some great activities for you to try at home based on the story.

Links and additional documents to support the activities can be found below:

Activity 1: Design Your Own Sea Creature

These templates can also be downloaded using the link below:

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/us-t-2549335-sea-creature-templates-cut-outs

Activity 2: Move Like A Sea Creature

These can be downloaded using the following link:

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-29366-ocean-animal-movement-cards

Activity 5: Snail Trails

Other Activity Ideas:

Colour By Numbers:

Make Your Own Paper Whale:

Draw Your Own Snails:

These activities can be downloaded using the following link:

https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/books-for-children/snail-and-the-whale-kids-activities

Sensory Tub:

You can find out more about making your own ‘Snail And The Whale’ sensory tub at:

https://growingbookbybook.com/the-snail-and-the-whale-virtual-book-club

Science: Slugs And Snails

In keeping with our Story Of The Week, ‘The Snail And The Whale’, here is some interesting information about slugs and snails.  The download links can be found below each activity.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-sc-270-snails-powerpoint

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-27019-all-about-slugs-and-snails-eyfs-information-powerpoint

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-27018-slugs-and-snails-eyfs-fact-cards

Now that you know a bit more about slugs and snails, why don’t you try these activities?

Make A Snailery:

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-sc-49-making-a-snailery-instructions-activity

Parts Of A Snail:

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-sc-42-parts-of-a-snail-activity-sheet

Learning Grid: Life Skills

Here is a learning grid for Life Skills.  It contains 16 activity ideas for you to help develop and promote your child’s independence in a range of household and life skills tasks.

These activities are only suggestions and we would recommend that, where appropriate, you adapt these activities to meet your child’s ability level.

Learning Grid: Get Active!

Here is a learning grid for Getting Active!  It contains 16 activity ideas for you to help promote physical activity both in and out of the home on a daily basis.

These activity are only suggestions and we would recommend completing one activity each day.  However, we would love to see what other creative ways you and your family are using to Get Active daily!

Links to YouTube Channels and websites can be found below.

Oti Mabuse Official YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mosetsanagape

Joe Wicks – Body Coach YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

Cosmic Kids Yoga: https://www.cosmickids.com/

Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

Learning Station YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLearningStation

Bumble Bee Physio: https://www.facebook.com/bumblebeephysio/

imoves.com also have lots of fun exercise activities for you to try at home.  Here are some of the challenges and the links to access them:

Mountain Bike Challenge: https://imoves.com/home-learning/723

Exercise And Health: https://imoves.com/home-learning/1272

Wellness Warrior – Fruit And Veg Dance: https://imoves.com/home-learning/1332

Positions And Directions: https://imoves.com/home-learning/1334

Samba Carnival: https://imoves.com/home-learning/1340

Disco: https://imoves.com/home-learning/1346

Balance Challenge: https://imoves.com/home-learning/964

Strong Core: https://imoves.com/home-learning/1393

Music with Emmeline – Monday 18th May

Here are today’s musical activities from Emmeline.

Vocal Warm-Up: My Mum Made Me Mash My M&Ms 

This week’s vocal warm-up is going to be singing the riddle;
‘Mummy made me mash my M&Ms’.

We are going to gradually move up the scale singing this, see how high you can sing it. Maybe higher than Emmeline!

Proud: Part 1 – Chorus

“This week’s Makaton Song is going to be ‘Proud’ by Heather Small. We have chosen this song as we think everyone should be feeling very proud of themselves at the moment. Today we are going to learn the chorus of the song. The words are below.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It’s never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

NHS Inform Website

Keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 with the NHS Inform website.

People whose first or preferred language is not English can also get information about coronavirus (COVID-19) in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Urdu, Spanish and Punjabi translations.

Additionally you can access British Sign Language (BSL) translations and, for those with sight loss, an audio version is also available.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19

A Busy Week In Primary

All the staff at Orchard Brae are missing seeing all our pupils every day and we are always eager to see and hear what you’ve been up to.  We love seeing what everyone has been busy doing while they are at home and we have some wonderful photos and videos to share with you this week.

If you would like to share what you have been up to at home, please send any photos or videos via your child’s teacher, the Orchard Brae School Facebook Messenger page or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk.  Downloading videos from the Orchard Brae School Facebook Messenger page appears to be working again (fingers crossed!) however if you are having any issues, please send them using a free transfer site such as Dropbox or WeTransfer.

Birthday Boy

One pupil shared some photos and a video from his birthday celebrations!  It looks like he had lots of fun celebrating with his family.

Working Hard

We’ve been delighted to see how well some of our pupils have been working at home on continuing their learning.

There has been lots of work on this week’s story ‘The Story Monster’, listening to monster stories, exploring the colour of emotions and creating your own colour monsters.

Others have been busy practising their writing.

Getting Crafty

We love seeing how you are all exploring your creative side!

Making Music

It certainly looks like there has been lots of fun being musical this week, making and playing instruments and listening to your favourite tunes!

Life Skills

Once again, we’ve been impressed with you’re life skills, whether it be developing your independent feeding skills…

…exploring tastes…

…or helping to bake some yummy treats!

Out And About

Despite our delightful Scottish climate and having four seasons in one day this week, you’ve managed to get out and about and explore your local area.

Animal Antics!

From feeding the ducks and watching the lambs when you’ve been out and about, to playing with a new kitten at home, we’ve loved seeing your photos of you interacting with animals.

Getting Active

You’ve all been busy exploring different ways to keep yourselves active from swinging around, bouncing on the trampoline, chasing bubbles, tiring yourselves out with some sport or simply having a stretch.

And Always Remember…

We love seeing all your smiles and even during this difficult and strange time it’s important to stop and smell the flowers…

…make some wonderful memories and have fun with those you love.

We can’t wait to see what you get up to next week!