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.

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.

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On Monday Room 18 and some friends from Room 16 and 19 watched Scotland play Samoa in the Rugby World Cup. The World Cup is being held in Japan. We learned about Japan in Drama with Sam. Scotland scored lots of tries and won the match! We enjoyed watching the game.

 

Macmillan Coffee Afternoon

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Howes Hoose, supported by their friends from Room 19, led a very successful coffee afternoon today. Well done to all of the pupils and staff involved in making this such a successful event, and thank you to everyone that came along to join in the fun and support Macmillan Cancer Support. Our pupils were very busy throughout the afternoon, setting up, keeping the tables cleared, and topping up the cups. Hopefully they all had time to have a chat with their guests too!

Thank you for joining us and making our afternoon such a success!

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!

 

 

Creative Learning Award for the Makaton Choir

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We were delighted to be invited to the Aberdeen City Council Children and Young People’s Services Awards today which were held at the Beach Ballroom.

Arriving at the Beach Ballroom

The Makaton Choir, led by Emmeline, our Music Therapist, had been nominated for the Creative Learning Award. There was tough competition with two other schools nominated so we were delighted when Orchard Brae were announced as the winners.

Our Makaton Choir delegation with the Lord Provost

Well done to our senior pupils for representing the school today. It was wonderful to be present at the Ceremony, celebrating learning and achievements from across the City. Congratulations to everyone that was nominated!

The obligatory Awards Selfie

Our Certificate and Award

Musical Fun with Drake Music and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

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On Wednesday 4th September the staff and pupils of Room 16 attended a music composing workshop run by Drake Music and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

We arrived in the hall and took our seats as 2 cellists played a smooth and relaxing melody.  A third musician played various instruments and handed them out to pupils to join in.  My favourite moment was when he started playing a trombone and one very shy pupil simply grinned and said “Wow!”

The pupils (and staff) had the opportunity to play various percussion and wind instruments.  Pupils were given a sense of control as the cellos and trombone would repeat the sounds they had made.  You will see lots of big grins in the photos.

 

 

Settling in: Room 16

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We have been settling in to the new classroom, with familiar faces and new faces. In PSE we talked about what we like to do with our friends and made a poster to decorate the classroom walls.

 

Room 19: A New Class!

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This year we have a new class, Room 19. In Room 19 we are Senior Phase pupils (S4-6) and we are following a timetable that will allow us to progress on to the learning experiences offered in Howes Hoose, our Leavers Class.

Our learning focuses on developing independence and life skills. In our morning meeting, we chat about our day and our targets. We also practise life skills through setting the table, preparing snacks and tidying up. We take turns following a rota for chores.

We are often out and about in and around school. Our literacy and communication skills are being developed through our newspaper, the Haddo Herald, a joint venture with Howes Hoose. Some of us write the news and we use it to practise talking to others and asking questions. Going around classes to deliver the paper helps us to communicate with less familiar people and to practise using equipment such as our talkers.

Our numeracy skills are developed through wider learning opportunities such as our sandwich enterprise. We go shopping for ingredients and this lets us practise our money skills, as does managing our budget and payments. We also work on time and think about this in relation to our daily routines.

Some of us are also doing work experience this year. This begins in school with opportunities such as supporting younger pupils in Outdoor Education. We also have a young man working regularly in the school kitchen, preparing food and doing dishes and we have young people doing grass cutting, gardening and working in community centres and shops.

We think it will be a good year in Room 19!

Review of the Year in Room 18

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Our highlights of the year have been …

Our class enterprise: we made and sold sandwiches every week throughout the year. We donated money to Charlie House (£800), made a donation to the Bendrigg Trip and enjoyed a class outing.

We loved our time at Bendrigg.

This week we went to Hazlehead Park. We saw the Gruffalo and the Oor Wullie statues that are around Aberdeen.

We have also enjoyed work experience opportunities in and around school, including work with our Janitor and working in the school kitchen with the Catering Team.

We have had a great year and look forward to building on our learning next year, developing our skills and extending our experiences outside school.