Category: Core Curriculum

This is an introductory paragraph about Core Curriculum at Orchard Brae.

A Busy Term in Room 15

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This has been a busy term in Room 15, with lots of new experiences!

We have lots of fun with messy learning in Room 15. In our Secondary Department, all S1-S3 pupils complete the ASDAN New Horizons course – we have begun with building our communication of key information about ourselves.  We have hidden under blankets and revealed ourselves when our name is called (activating a switch talker to announce “I’m here!”), we have practiced our Makaton signs for our names (and those of our friends) and (best of all!) located our photos in sensory resources and written our names in mixed media.

We’ve also introduced bucket time to Room 15. This activity looks to build focused attention – and it seems we’re more focused the messier it gets!  We have used bucket time to build our spontaneous communication too – ready, steady and … “go!”

We have been using intensive interaction to build our communication skills in a variety of different contexts – we’re speaking and using more signs since the start of the year already!

We have been working a lot on life skills, particularly road safety. We use our eyes and ears to look out for traffic, and use our communication devices to say when to stop and when to go.

We have also begun to explore using talking mats to share our thoughts about our day – what we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we’re not sure about. On the whole, we’re liking our school day!

Moving Science in Room 14

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Room 14 have been honing their scientific and research skills.  We have been investigating things that move and what makes them move.  Earlier in the term we investigated wind power.  We tried blowing some things over and found that the hairdryer could blow harder than we could.  We decided that we did not want to stay in a windy hurricane town as it was dangerous.

We also looked at whether the shape of something made it easier to move.  We experimented with things we found in school.  The pen rolled if you took the cap off but not with the cap on. The scooter rolled when upright but not if we put it in it’s side. The box of tissues did not roll but the tumbler did.  We found a tyre in our playground and we all had fun rolling it.

Flying Kites in Room 6

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Room 6 had great fun trying to make the kite fly on a windy day. Some of us chased the kite and some of us watched from a distance.

Pupils then made their own kites with carrier bags and enjoyed flying these in the playground.

Norma Buist Swimming Gala

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Our senior pupils had a fantastic day at the swimming gala! We are very proud of them all for working hard to achieve the times required to represent Orchard Brae at the gala, and for swimming their best during their events.

They returned to school with a number of achievements. For some, it was their first gala and they swam brilliantly, doing their very best for the occasion. Another pupil, also at their first gala, attempted to compete but found the water was too cold … maybe next year.

Those fortunate enough to win medals came away with quite a haul between them:

Bronze Medal for 25 m Backstroke for a pupil competing in their first gala;

Gold Medal 25 m Backstroke for one of our more accomplished swimmers;

Gold Medal 25 m Front Crawl for a youngster at their first gala;

3 Gold Medals for 25 m Front Crawl, Backstroke and Breaststroke, again for a more experienced competitor;

and finally, 3 Gold Medals for 50 m Front Crawl, Backstroke and Breaststroke for an advanced swimmer.

Congratulations to each and every one of our swimmers for going to the gala and competing at a high level! You were all stars!

 

 

Room 5 Visit The Library

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Room 5 had a busy morning, visiting our local library at Northfield.

When we arrived, we spent some time exploring the library.  We really liked the computers and colouring in table!  We then met the librarian who gave us a library card for our class and we chose some books to take back to school.

We can’t wait for our next visit to the library.

Makaton Word Of The Fortnight – GO

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We have a new Makaton Word Of The Fortnight – GO!

Below you will find a short video clip demonstrating how to sign GO as well as an activity sheet with ideas for ways to incorporate the sign into a range of everyday tasks and games.

This has also been posted on the Orchard Brae School Makaton Support Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/orchardbraeschoolaberdeenmakatonsupport/

Happy signing 👐

Makaton Word Of The Fortnight – STOP

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We have a new Makaton Word Of The Fortnight – STOP!

Below you will find a short video clip demonstrating how to sign STOP as well as an activity sheet with ideas for ways to incorporate the sign into a range of everyday tasks and games.

This has also been posted on the Orchard Brae School Makaton Support Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/orchardbraeschoolaberdeenmakatonsupport/

Happy signing 👐

Our First Week In Room 3

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This week the pupils in Room 3 came back to school and some of our pupils celebrated their first day of Primary One.

We explored the story ‘First Day at Bug School’ and the children engaged so well as we moved through the different classes that the bugs attend!  We started the story and went through the grass (Pom Poms helped set the scene!) then listened to the ‘tiny school bell ring’ which took us into bug school.  We started by doing the register where we hid under the cloths before pulling them off our heads just like we do in our class!  In Spider science class we loved watching the water fall down the spout (there was quite a lot of splashing too!), in Ladybird maths class we spun the spinner before listening to/feeling on body counting to the same number, in PE class we worked hard to push the huge gym ball off our trays and it was so much fun to watch it bounce across the classroom and music class with the Crickets was a huge hit too!  Almost as much fun as a day at Orchard Brae.

We are super impressed with how quickly the children have settled into the school routine for the first time/after the long holidays and are very excited for all the learning ahead of us in Room 3 this year.

A Trip to the Beach With Room 4

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Room 4 have been reading ‘The New Friend’ by Alex Scheffler for their book study this term.

In the book, the main characters Pip and Posy make a new friend at the beach and they work together to build a sandcastle.

We enjoyed the book so much that we thought we would have a go at making our own sandcastles!  We visited the beach and worked together to build our own sandcastles.  We thought we did a good job.  What do you think?  We even made our own new friend when we went looking in the rock pools!

 

 

 

Exploring The Secret Garden With M & M Theatrical Productions

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We had a very special performance in school this morning thanks to M & M Theatrical Productions.

They enchanted us with their adaptation of the classic children’s novel ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett and we loved having the opportunity to experience the wonder of a live theatre performance.  After the show, some of the students also had the opportunity to meet the cast and explore the set.

Thank you M & M for putting on this wonderful show for us.

 

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