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Room 17 have been combining our work on reusing and recycling with our numeracy work looking at shapes. We’ve reused lots of empty packaging to make big building blocks. This has given us a great opportunity to explore 3D shapes. Some of us thought the best bit was knocking down our towers and some of us enjoyed the smells from the packaging. We also reused empty bottles and old newspapers to make a skittles game. We had lots of fun playing skittles.
Room 17 have enjoyed settling back into a new school year after the summer holidays. We have really enjoyed seeing all our friends again and welcoming some new faces into the classroom too. Over the last few weeks, we have been familiarising ourselves with school and class routines. In the mornings, we have focused on our communication skills and getting to know one another. We especially like it when we hear stories from home about what everyone has been doing so we can share them with each other! We have all settled in really well and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the term brings.
Room 17 have been busy exploring the idea of big and small. We have been applying this concept to our everyday life skills; for example, looking at big kitchen utensils and small kitchen utensils; cutting fruit into big pieces and small pieces. We have also had good fun exploring this with different sizes of balls and we have been practicing our turn taking skills at the same time. We have also been decorating our outside area with the idea of big and small too. We have been painting big rocks and small rocks to make a pretty class snake; and making wind chimes by choosing big twigs and small twigs! Our outside area is looking much more welcoming now!
We have big news this week! Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will have a LIVE PE lesson. To join us all you need to do is to check the ‘PE at Home’ class on Wednesday at 2 pm and there will be a link for the ‘Meet’.
You will need: comfy clothes and a willingness to have fun!
Amanda and Salvi look forward to seeing you!
The PE at home classroom on Google is updated weekly and the team are doing a great job in providing a range of activities to suit pupils of all abilities. These include Dance, Boccia, Orienteering, Scavenger Hunts (this week’s is a lovely sensory, texture hunt) and our regular PE with Salvi and Amanda, ably supported by our own Young Leaders in school.
Please ask your child’s class teacher for a link if you are not in the PE at Home classroom.
We’ve had another busy week of remote learning. Starting on Monday with our whole school Burns Day Celebration, the week was started with great enthusiasm!
Daily Circle Time
To keep our routine going, many classes continue to do daily circle time. Some of our learners have their own circle time packs at home to support the familiar routine, others use the class slides to provide structure. It’s great to receive feedback on how our learners are getting on: ‘He thoroughly enjoys circle time.’
For one young man, circle time is also an opportunity to practise his bench sitting.
Personal Independence and Life Skills
We continue to develop independence in personal care. Staff take time to support us in doing things for ourselves. Handwashing is very important during a pandemic!
We’ve been cooking and baking. There was some delicious French Onion Soup on offer this week and beautiful golden shortbread. Look out Masterchef, here we come!
Expressive Arts
We enjoyed art, PE, drumming and music through Makaton Choir. A very detailed drawing was done to decorate a drum for a music session with Keith – the drawing is of a hunter being chased by an African lady that is protecting the animals!
We also took time to relax, both indoors and out.
Working Hard
We worked hard on a range of learning activities and tasks, some online and some more practical.
One of our senior pupils made an amazing cat house as part of her SQA work. I think you’ll agree, this is for one very lucky cat!
Assembly
Finally, to round off the week we had an Assembly. We talked about mental health and the theme ‘Express Yourself’. Staff shared the ways that they express themselves and show that they’re unique. The slides are available to view in the Google Assembly classroom for anyone that was unable to join us. Our challenge for the next assembly on 12th February is to share a photo of us doing something that we enjoy – anything goes!
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for both staff and pupils in our Secondary Department. With a new round of remote learning we’ve slipped back into things a little easier. We’ve got lots of activities on offer within our Google Classrooms and we’re seeing more pupils engaging with this. Circle time and stories are proving popular and it’s great to see our young people getting involved in helping around the home.
Although we have some sessions ‘live’, such as Makaton Choir (every Monday at 2 pm) and Assembly (1:30 pm on Friday 29th January), other activities are in the form of pre-recorded video or materials that can be accessed at a time of your convenience. We do appreciate that family life is busy, everyone juggling remote learner(s) with other commitments, so we invite you dip in and out when it suits your schedule.
Here are a few photos from our remote learning over the last couple of weeks. If you’d like your child to be featured, please let the class teacher know that you’re happy for your photographs to be shared.
Life Skills: Home Economics
Outdoor Education
Sharing our learning through Google Meets
Circle Time
Expressive Arts and Communication
Life Skills: Household tasks and shopping
We’re learning in everything we do. Please ask your class teachers if you need any further support.
Tomorrow (14th January) we will be having our first Secondary Assembly of the New Year. Our assemblies have been virtual since our return after the initial lockdown due to having to restrict the numbers for gatherings and our young people have responded well to this.
Tomorrow we would like to invite both our remote learners and those staff and pupils in school to join us. If you have not yet signed up, please do so by accepting the invitation sent via Google Classroom. If you are having any issue, please contact the Class Teacher for further support.
The link will go ‘live’ in Assembly Classroom a few minutes before we start. I hope you can come along!
Over the last few weeks, Room 17 have enjoyed different Christmas activities. We have enjoyed making various Christmas crafts, making and selling reindeer dust, building a gingerbread house and decorating our classroom. We were spoiled with our Christmas dinner, and then we also had a pizza party in class, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed! Finally, we had fun at our Christmas party on Monday and we are looking forward to seeing a very special visitor on Thursday!
As part of our ASDAN and SQA work, Room 17 have been exploring a variety of musical instruments. We have been deciding which instruments we like best and which ones we aren’t so keen on! We have enjoyed playing the different instruments to some of our favourite songs. We have now chosen our favourite instrument and will be practising it for something special coming up later in the term!
