Category: Secondary Department

Welcome to the Secondary Department

The secondary department has 8 classes and pupils follow the principles of Curriculum for Excellence: a broad general education in S1-S3 and the Senior Phase in S4- S6.   The curriculum is varied, relevant, challenging, enjoyable and adapted to meet our pupil’s individual needs.  Pupils also visit a range of specialists, have access to relevant therapeutic inputs and participate in wider community events.

Pour a Cup of Kindness With Room 17

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8 May was World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day.  Globally the Red Cross delivers lots of humanitarian assistance including first aid.  Room 17 pupils have also been doing some first aid and have been working towards their Basic First Aid SQA.  

To celebrate the success of Room 17 pupils and World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day we had a  ‘Pour a Cup of Kindness’ coffee morning.  We invited Room 17 parents and our friends from Howes Hoose to join us.  We also had a visitor, Colin, from the British Red Cross.  Colin presented all the pupils with a First Aid Certificate.  We also had fun with some tea cup photo props. 

Howes Hoose try grass cutting!

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Lately the pupils in Howes Hoose have had a go at taming the grass in their garden. Everyone was very keen to take a turn and enjoyed getting dressed up with all the safety equipment, they all looked very official! Everyone listened carefully to instructions and carried out the job safely. A few pupils had already tried out grass cutting at home and were able to show off their skills. There will be plenty more work needing done in the garden to neaten it up before the Summer Holidays begin!

Room 17’s Special Visitors

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Room 17 were delighted by the visit of two very special guests – ‘Flicker’ and ‘Winston’ – the therapy ponies. Pupils from the class had the opportunity to stroke each pony and take them for a walk around the hall. The ponies were exceptionally well behaved and seemed to enjoy getting petted from the pupils. We were all very impressed with their little shoes! It was a rare and special treat for everyone!

Howes Hoose’s Amazing Art for Display 

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Over the past few terms one of the pupils in Howes Hoose has been completing her National 2: Creating Materials for Display. She has created three beautiful pieces of work all based round the theme of the sun. Each of the pictures has been completed with different materials and worked on meticulously. They are displayed at the front door of the school and there have been so many lovely comments and questions about the art work. 

A Little Spot Of Kindness

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Last week in assembly, we celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day. We learned a new Makaton song from Singing Hands about being kind.

We also read a story about spreading kindness.

Following the assembly, classes were set a challenge to complete as many Kindness tasks as possible over the week. Lots of classes took part and we were delighted to have 2 winners – Room 9 and Room 16. They won a set of kindness books and colouring set.

We’ve also been noticing other acts of kindness across the school from both staff and pupils. Keep an eye out for some special tokens of recognition coming your way and keep spreading the kindness!

Howes Hoose at the Gym 

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The S6 pupils in Howes Hoose have been enjoying using the local gym facilities in Sheddocksley. The pupils are excellent at independently scanning their gym cards when they arrive. They have been trying out a variety of the gym equipment and building their confidence and stamina. The treadmill and bikes are definitely the favoured choices! It is fantastic to see our young people out and about accessing their local community. 

Keeping Clean in 17!

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Room 17 have been working hard towards their Personal Hygiene SQA. We have been exploring different personal hygiene activities and what items are required to complete these activities. We enjoyed smelling different shampoos and shower gels. We experimented with how much bubbles and froth we could make from them too – it’s quite a lot!

We also played some games, washed some clothes, and listened to different stories about how to keep ourselves clean and healthy.

Finally, we are happy to say that we are now experts in washing our hands, and brushing our teeth!

Volunteering In Howes Hoose

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Some of the Howes Hoose pupils have started volunteering at Springhill Community Gardens. Their hard work will contribute towards their Personal Achievement Award: Interacting in the Community. This week we learnt how to use the soil churner so to get rid of the big stones in the soil. We also did some work trimming back the broom. The ladies at Springhill were super grateful for the boys’ hard work and look forward to giving us lots more jobs as we head into the Spring months and the garden starts to bloom. The Howes Hoose pupils will be painting some stones in the coming week to bring to Springhill to brighten up the rock garden.