Category: Qualifications and Awards

We offer a large range of qualifications and awards throughout the senior phase and these are open to all pupils in S4-S6.  The teaching staff ensure that pupils are part of meaningful and relevant curriculum and lace the qualifications through a bespoke pathway allowing for challenge, enjoyment and to meet individual’s targets.

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.

Howes Hoose Work Experience

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The pupils in Howes Hoose have been very busy on work placements. They now have the opportunity to work at Airyhall Community Centre and Somebody Cares. Work placements are very important for the pupils to meet and work with new people, increase their confidence and independence. Everyone on work placement is working hard and they are very polite to people they meet. Well done to all the Howes Hoose pupils for representing Orchard Brae in the wider Community in such a positive way.

Science Week

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Room 16 enjoyed celebrating Science Week last week by doing their own sensory experiment. We made our own lava lamps by adding Vitamin C tablets to oil and coloured water. We enjoyed the smell of the orange from the vitamin C, the sound of the fizzing and the sight of the bubbles coming through the layer of oil. It also gave us all the opportunity to practise our motor skills with pouring the water and oil. We shone lights underneath our lamps and put the lights out – they looked awesome!

Food, glorious food!

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Room 16 have been learning about one of their favourite things – food! We have been talking about our likes and dislikes. The pupils have been practising asking each other what their favourite food using switches or using PODD. This will go towards one of our ASDAN awards. We are going to be learning about putting our information into a table to show others what we have found out as a class.

Special Events in Room 15

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Room 15 have been learning about time by exploring when special events occur as part of our ASDAN (mathematics) work recently.  We used symbol information to work out when different special events take place, including Fireworks night, St Andrews Day and Christmas, as well our class birthdays, and added this information to our calendars.

We’re now extending this with our ASDAN ICT project to use ICT to prepare for a special occasion – we’re filming our Christmas video!  (Too early?!?)

We voted for our preferred song choice on the interactive board and we’re exploring different ways to share communication relating to the song – through signing, using our AAC, through our actions – and recording this together.  We’ll also be using technology in our video, switching on Christmas lights and using a camera.

We’ve had lots of fun going through our Christmas resources too, lots of fabulous sensory opportunities with tinsel, hats, baubles and more!

Switch fun in Room 17

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Room 17 have been developing our skills of switch work through exploring different ways to use our switch button. We have been using our switch to play music on the white board, to activate toys and lights, to engage in sensory stories and even to make popcorn and to carve our pumpkin at Halloween! The switch has lots of uses which allows us to interact with our environment as independently as possible. We have great fun using them at the same time!

Household Appliances

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Room 16 have been continuing to work on their use of household appliances for their SQA award. We have been having great fun learning to use an electric fan and blowing things around our classroom using the different settings. We experimented with throwing leaves into the fan and feeling them land back on us. Spraying water into the wind was definitely a firm favourite and we ended up with a lot of wet faces! At least we had a fan to blow us dry again!