A Little Spot Of Kindness

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 

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!

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

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. 

Getting Ready For 2024

Room 17 had lots of fun making calendars for 2024.  We did some very good looking when we were choosing paint.  Some of us really enjoyed exploring the paint and feeling it in between our fingers.  We washed our hands with soapy water when we were finished.  Some of us thought hand washing was the best bit and really enjoyed feeling the warm water on our hands and playing with the bubbles.  We are hoping our Mums and Dads really like our calendar showing the different seasons through different colours.

Christmas Celebration with Active Schools: Thursday 14th December, 4-6 pm

Active Schools & Sport Aberdeen are hosting a Young Carers and Care Experienced event. Although many brothers and sisters of our Orchard Brae youngsters may not consider themselves to be “Young Carers” we recognise the support that they give in everyday life and would encourage them to attend this fun event. Please register in advance.

Howes Hoose Are Working Hard On Work Experience 

All pupils in Howes Hoose attend at least one work experience placement each week. It is a great chance to be out in the community, meeting new people and practising a variety of life skills. We currently attend 3 different placements. Somebody Cares at Hazelhead  is a local charity shop where pupils help to organise and tidy the donations. Our  Airyhall Community Centre placement gives pupils a chance to practise cleaning and hoovering and Honeycomb Community Cafe at Sheddocksley Church  provides the opportunity to practise using a dishwasher and interacting with new people.  It is always a really positive experience and pupils look forward to getting out and about into their community. 

Learning About Diwali In RME

In RME we have been learning about the Hindu festival of Diwali. We listened to the story of Rama and Sita, sang some Diwali songs and learned about rangoli patterns and diya lamps. Some classes dyed rice to make rangoli patterns, others made Happy Diwali cards and others made diya lanterns. Happy Diwali to all!!