Raising Money for Comic Relief

Our amazing Makaton Choir, dancers and drummers  had great fun entertaining the whole school with their favourite songs as a fundraiser for Comic Relief.

We are also raising money through our World Book Day Book and DVD trolley and all the money received will be donated to Comic Relief. Total raised so far is £240.

The students and staff in Howes Hoose have also been busy selling red noses around the school. They have raised an amazing £90 and they have donated a further £50 from their soup making enterprise. A huge well done to everyone in Howes Hoose for their total of £140! (Photos to follow!)

 

Celebrating World Kidney Day

We were asked by some of our parents to help raise awareness of World Kidney Day on the 14th March.  Kidney disease affects approximately 850 million people worldwide and the campaign Move4Kidneys highlights the importance of exercise in helping us keep our kidneys healthy.

We decided to get involved at Orchard Brae by hosting a special Move4Kidneys disco on Tuesday with Kev from SoundLightSensory, encouraging everyone to develop their awareness of kidney health by getting active and having fun.

Red Nose Day in Room 18

Room 18 celebrated Red Nose Day today. We watched a short film and learned about the serious side of Comic Relief, talking about the way that donations made support children both in the UK and across the world. We then had some fun, playing a game of ‘Nose’ (a Beetle Drive by another name). We did this in teams and had lots of laughs throughout!

Room 17 celebrates Chinese New Year!

Room 17 had a fun week celebrating Chinese New Year. At the start of the week we learned all about the celebration. We heard the story of why the years are named after animals, watched the Lion Dance, and sang some songs – including Happy New Year in Chinese! At Music, we watched some Chinese drummers and played along on our own drums and cymbals as we watched. We even went to the Chinese Restaurant in Aberdeen Market for our morning snack on bus day and tried lots of different Chinese foods. We also had a pretend Chinese Takeaway through the week which turned into the real thing on Friday at snacktime – complete with fortune cookies! A great time was had by all!!!

Ragbag Collection

The pupils in Room 16 have been working hard on our Ragbag project for 18 months now.  We are delighted to confirm that we have raised approximately £900 for the school fund (that’s more than 2 tonnes of clothing that have been saved from landfill!).

Rag bag is a Scottish textile and clothing recycling scheme.  Items are graded according to their quality at their premises in Falkirk.  Wearable items are sent to developing countries as 2nd hand clothing, items which may have been torn or damaged recycled and become carpet underlay or industrial cleaning cloths or even mattress lining.  Either way they are kept from landfill.

There are 3 collection schemes, 1: send bags home, 2: inside collection bin (at school front office) and 3: external collection bin.  We are proud to say that we have all 3 schemes in operation.

We collect clothes, pairs of shoes, belts and bags.

So this Spring, as you clear out your winter wardrobe, feel free to fill a bag of rags for us!

Celebrating World Book Day

Yesterday was World Book Day and there was lots of fun as pupils shared their favourite books in class and some classes visited the book shop in town to spend their World Book Day tokens.  We were also fortunate to have received some lovely book donations which will enhance our school library and any books that we no longer use will be donated to Books2Africa to share our love of reading and books around the world.

Works of Art for our Loved Ones with Room 13

Room 13 are being organised once again. This time they are planning for another special day at the end of March where we share our love and appreciation for our families and those close to us. We have used a range of techniques to create our own special artwork.

Birthday Celebrations in Room 12

Room 12 enjoyed celebrating a pupil’s birthday.  There was a lot of excitement about the treats brought in to share.

Active Schools Dance Competition

On Thursday 28th of February our Dance Team took part in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Active Schools Dance Competition at Mackie Academy. They had a wonderful evening,enjoying all the support from all those taking part and watching the event. They may not have won however they were acknowledged by the judges for their musicality and enthusiasm.

Storytelling With Ailie

This week we have been extremely lucky to have had Ailie Finlay from Flotsam And Jetsam join us in school.  Ailie is a fantastic multi-sensory storyteller based in Edinburgh and she has been working with five different classes across the school as part of the Aberdeen City Arts Across Learning Festival.

She has thoroughly entertained us over the last three days with her wonderful tales and we all had an amazing time exploring storytelling with her.

Thank you so much Ailie for coming to work with us and we hope to see you again soon.