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.

Last Week Of Term

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We have had a wonderful activities week as we prepare for the summer holidays!

On Tuesday we enjoyed an Orchard Brae ‘Proms In The Park’. Unfortunately, the weather meant that we couldn’t enjoy a picnic outside but as you can see from the video below, everyone had a great time listening to the live music provided by the Fyvie Folk Club.

On Thursday, we all took part in our Animal Themed Sports Day. Use the QR code or link below to view a Thinglink showing all the fun!

www.thinglink.com/scene/1596498655605424129

And finally we would like to wish you all a very happy and relaxed summer holiday. Have lots of fun and we can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to what you’ve been up to when we return in August!

Bendrigg 2022

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Last week, pupils from Room 17, 18 and Howes Hoose embarked on our first trip to the Bendrigg Centre since 2019!

Pupils took part in a range of activities- Sensory Swing, Zip Line, Climbing, Canoeing, Caving, Archery and Biking. Thankfully there was a huge amount of food available to keep us well fed!

As you can see from the photos, all of our pupils worked incredibly hard and pushed themselves to try new things. We heard the words ‘I did it!’ and ‘keep going’ over and over again and the smiles on faces show exactly what it meant.

A huge thank you goes to the Bendrigg Trust for looking after us for the week and also to the Friends of Orchard Brae for supporting us with funding for the trip. We had a wonderful time and are already looking forward to next year!

Room 17 Art Gallery Visit

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Room 17 had a very exciting visit to the Art Gallery.  One of our class was in an exhibition celebrating 150 years of Voluntary Service Aberdeen (VSA).  It was really exciting to see a video with Waleed and his family projected on to a huge wall in the Art Gallery. We all enjoyed our bus outing and seeing our friend in his starring role.

Adventures with Room 18

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We had a great time at the end of last term getting out and about and enjoying some trips!  We went to a Boccia tournament in Peterculter where we tried lots of different Boccia based games with children from lots of schools.  We went to a RSNO concert at the Music Hall where we heard the story of Gaspard the Fox and then we enjoyed a picnic at Duthie park. We were even lucky enough to try curling on the ice at Curl Aberdeen, we played lots of games and had a chance to try a mini match at the end!

Drake Music

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Abi Sinar, a musician with Drake Music, has been working with students at Orchard Brae for the last two years, even throughout lockdowns, in developing the North East Digital Orchestra project. The ultimate goal of the project is to create a digital orchestra for school leavers and young adults, enabling them to develop their musical skills and create new music using a range of inclusive music technologies.

Pupils who have been involved in the project have been supported by Abi to develop their musical skills using a variety of accessible instruments and have created this video for you to enjoy, where they play Ode To Joy as well as their own additional compositions to the song.

Many thanks to Abi for her support and in making the film. If you would like to find out more about Drake Music and their work, please follow the link below:

https://drakemusicscotland.org/

Bucket Time Progress in Room 16

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Room 16 have been taking part in Bucket Time this year which is based on Attention Autism. There are 4 stages to it which are worked through over the week several times. We have seen each pupils’ attention increase significantly across the year and are so impressed with everyone looking and listening to the activities so intently. Everyone’s favourite part is definitely part one where we look at and listen to lots of funny toys or items in the bucket. Anything that flies and makes a funny noise is always a winner in Room 16!

Room 17 quix

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In Room 17 we have been trying hard to look after our environment.  We have been working hard at reducing, reusing and recycling.  This week we have been exploring different materials and finding out how long they stay in our rivers and seas if people don’t dispose of them properly. 

We would like you to guess how long it takes for  some items of rubbish to degrade in the water.  We’ve given you a couple of answers to get you started.  Next term we will give you all the answers.

Good luck from Room 17

ItemDegradation Time
Paper ticket 
Banana skin 
Orange peel 
Cigarette butt 
Plastic bag10 – 20 years
Foam cup 
Tin can50 years
Aluminium can 
Plastic bottle 
Fishing gear 
Glass bottle 
 

PE SQA

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Our pupils from Howes Hoose have taken part in the Nat 2 course Factors Affecting Performance. In this course they have been identifying what parts of the body are involved in different exercises and how exercise affects their body.

Pupils from Room 13, 16 & 18 have taken part in the Nat 2 course Taking part in Physical Activities. During this course they choose different activities that they would like to take part in, and they are learning about the equipment that they need for it as well as setting up and tidying up after using it.

PE kit

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PE kit works as an element of reference, facilitating the transition between the classroom and the hall. It also promotes and develops skills for life such as getting changed independently. A huge thank you to all families supporting us with PE kit (indoor shoes, t-shirt and shorts or joggers).