Letter To Parents/Carers – 29th April 2021

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We have certainly seen a change in the weather this week but we have enjoyed a busy week in school. In outdoor learning the children have been planting a variety of trees within the grounds creating our very own orchard. Look out for photos appearing on our website.

As part of my final term here at Orchard Brae I have been invited by each class for a special appointment to spend tie with them in class and enjoy a wee snack together. This week I have been in Room 9 and Room 18. I am really looking forward to spending some time with each class. I will keep you posted on what I get up to. Room 9 shared a lovely snack with me and then we went out to plant some trees in the new orchard. I am visiting Room 18 tomorrow afternoon. 😊

Next week sees the May Day holiday Monday and then an Inset day on Tuesday 4th. Work starts on the new polytunnel next week and we will share pictures once it is complete. I hear we have a pumpkin patch planned and that the seeds have already been planted so lots of growing going on.

I have attached a couple documents that I was asked to share by Karen Crozier one of our NHS physiotherapists. Karen is looking for help with a research project that she is doing relating to 24 hour postural management. The documents will also be posted on our website and FaceBook page if you are unable to access via this email.

I hope you all have a pleasant May weekend.

Take care

Caroline

Autism Outreach Service – Transitions Presentation and online Q&A

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At this time in the academic year the big transitions in the child or young person’s school life such as from one class to another, or from one educational setting to another, are being discussed, planned and implemented.

Transitions can be scary for everyone but for a child or young person with an ASC the fears, worry stress and anxiety can be even more heightened. ASC can have a big impact on the way a person experiences transitions.

It is important to recognise that transitions happen all day, every day: from room to room, activity to activity, teacher to teacher. Children and young people with an ASC may often need support with these smaller day to day transitions just as much as the larger transitions of moving school. Establishing the best way to support smaller transitions can often help the bigger ones go more smoothly.

The Autism Outreach Team have put together a transition presentation for staff to give them advice, guidance, practical tips and resources on making the process of school transitions go as smoothly as possible.

The presentation is available below to read and go through as a stand alone resource however, the Team will be available for a question and answer session on the In-Service Day on May 4th from 1pm till 3pm on an online Teams meet.

If would like to join in the Teams Q&A online discussion then just email Karen, Laura or Jan and they will send you the link.

KInglis@aberdeencity.gov.uk

LauMay@aberdeencity.gov.uk

JaMcKechnie@aberddencity.gov.uk

We look forward to seeing you there.

Letter To Parents/Carers – 23rd April 2021

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I hope this finds you well.

I have attached a copy of the school’s updated Covid-19 risk assessment. This reflects the changes in guidance from the Scottish Government as well as Aberdeen City Council’s guidance.

It has been nice to see the school busy with the full return and I continue to work closely with NHS, Health Protection Team and families of those pupils that have not yet been able to return to school to ensure we have procedures in place that will enable this to happen as far as is possible.

The display of tartan in school today has been tremendous to mark our virtual Kiltwalk day. I have seen a kilt, tartan troose, tartan skirts and many more tartan garments and the weather has been on our side too.  I know many of the pupils, parents/carers and staff have been busy fund raising for Friends of Orchard Brae so a very big thank you to everyone.  

I hope everyone has a good weekend

Take care

Kind regards

Caroline

A Busy Start To The Term In Room 4

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Room 4 have had a busy start to the new term.

We have been having lots of fun learning through play and this has helped us introduce our new topic by exploring different means of transport through art, songs and sensory play! We have made drawings using cars and trucks of various sizes!

We are also exploring the outdoors and taking advantage of the good weather!

We enjoyed making some ladybug crackers and smelling and touching all the ingredients we used!

One of our classmates had his birthday! We celebrated with him and did some festive games, like individually wrapped pass the parcels!

Orchard Brae Kiltwalk

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A few of our pupils and staff are participating in the virtual Kiltwalk at the weekend and we wish them the very best of luck!

To support, the rest of us are doing our own Kiltwalk activities in school this Friday and we would encourage pupils to wear a touch of tartan if they can – anything goes!

We will be dancing and walking on Friday and will share photos of our activities with you next week.

Room 19 Return to School

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Our return to school after the Easter break has been pretty hectic.  There has been lots of giggles as we all enjoyed being back in a bigger group.  The pupils all worked hard with Google Classroom and Google meets last term.  I am so impressed at the communication skills and confidence the pupils developed during virtual lessons.  We still enjoy conference calls with peers at home as well as live music lessons online.  Here are a few photos from our first week back in school, playing “Headbandz” and mindfulness.

Sensory Fun In Room 8

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Over the current school year, we have created a number of sensory experiences for our pupils. Many of the sensory play activities we create are in the form of sensory bins. 

Shredded paper sensory activity was the cheapest sensory bin we have ever put together. Playing with shredded paper is so much fun. Shredded paper is a tactile sensory learning experience.  But what is the point of this apart from making a mess?

The children have learnt to:

  • relax and enjoy the process rather than the end result
  • social interaction including co-operative and parallel play
  • promote gross and fine motor skill development
  • affirm individuality and build self-esteem as they engage in spontaneous play without pre-set ideas
  • allow them to explore care free and make a mess
  • explore messy play without getting dirty (some children don’t like getting dirty)
  • gain social skills and strategies for sharing space to gain spatial awareness

And we know, the activity doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be FUN!!!



ASDAN Work in Room 14

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We are happy to all be back together in Room 14 this term. Our focus is on developing independence and working on our ASDAN modules.

Following on from last term when we focused on handwashing, we tried out the Glitter Bug to see how thoroughly we had washed our hands. It was fascinating to look under the UV light to find which parts we had neglected. We will continue with this and we are going to be learning some Makaton signs for parts of our body.

In HE, we made ‘yogurt’. It got a mixed reaction when we tasted it, with some of us loving it and others just having a tiny taste before decided that it wasn’t for us. It’s good to see that we are developing a willingness to try tasting new foods as this may build to expanding our diet.

We have been learning about other cultures. We have done some Spanish inspired art work and we learned a Turkish dance. This is a social dance, usually done on occasions such as weddings. We all had great fun learning how to do this and really enjoyed the music. We will be learning more about Turkish and Polish culture this term.

Finally, we have been working on our end of day review, sharing our opinions on what we have liked and disliked during the day. It is important that we are enabled to give our thoughts on learning.