Drake Music

  By , , , , ,

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/

A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea

  By ,

Last term, Room 10, as part of their topic project, were exploring the story “A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea”!

We’ve explored fast and slow with movement games in class, to link with the lyric “grows at speed”.  We’ve investigated capacity with a range of containers with water and other sensory resources, including several containers with holes in, to build our understanding of of the hole in the story.  We’ve played with light (including with adapted switches so we could control them) and reflective materials to support understanding of one story feature – the sun!

Alongside this we’ve been busy with a wide range of broader learning.  We loved choosing pancake toppings for pancake day and our science project for that week involved trying to get felt “pancakes” to our target, which was great fun!  A particular highlight of the last few weeks has been sessions on the adapted bikes with Salvi from P.E. – the effort and enthusiasm from the whole class has been fabulous!

Take A Break

  By

Take a Break Scotland are pleased to announce that they are now open for applications!

Take a Break provides grants to unpaid carers of disabled children and young people, who have complex additional support needs, or serious or life-threatening health conditions.

Applications are open until 5:00pm on Monday 20 June 2022.

If you have concerns about travelling either in the UK or overseas, there are options on how you can use your grant if awarded.

Visit their website: https://takeabreakscotland.org.uk for more information and how to apply online.

Developing the Outdoor Space

  By , ,

Our Outdoor Learning team- Roddy and Sharon- have been working hard to develop our outdoor space. The latest addition is two planter benches. Lots of us have already enjoyed sitting in the sun on them. Room 6 worked hard to get the planters ready for planting by drilling drainage holes in the trays. Room 10 then filled the planters with compost ready for the plants to go in. We are very impressd with the work these classes have been doing. The planters look fantastic and we are very excited to see how things grow.

Well done everyone!

Bucket Time Progress in Room 16

  By ,

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!

Holiday Weekend

  By

Just a reminder that all Orchard Brae establishments will be closed on Monday 2nd May for the May Day holiday and Tuesday 3rd May for in-Service Training. The Nursery based at Ashgrove Children’s Centre will also be closed on Thursday 5th May for local elections polling. This does not affect the main school or Nursery at Howes Road which will be open as normal.

Collaborative Learning In Room 2

  By ,

Room 2 pupils enjoy working collaboratively as our photos show. Look at the pupils’ independent skills, their level of engagement – all actively participating with very little support and their clear enjoyment of learning though our Three Little Pigs story. They have also been having fun with Bucket Time activities on a Friday… as we all know, having fun is very important!

Room 17 quix

  By , ,

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

  By , , , , , ,

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.