Enjoying our Learning in Secondary

  By , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Burns Celebrations to start the week

We’ve had another busy week of remote learning. Starting on Monday with our whole school Burns Day Celebration, the week was started with great enthusiasm!

Daily Circle Time

To keep our routine going, many classes continue to do daily circle time. Some of our learners have their own circle time packs at home to support the familiar routine, others use the class slides to provide structure. It’s great to receive feedback on how our learners are getting on: ‘He thoroughly enjoys circle time.’

For one young man, circle time is also an opportunity to practise his bench sitting.

Personal Independence and Life Skills

We continue to develop independence in personal care. Staff take time to support us in doing things for ourselves. Handwashing is very important during a pandemic!

We’ve been cooking and baking. There was some delicious French Onion Soup on offer this week and beautiful golden shortbread. Look out Masterchef, here we come!

Expressive Arts

We enjoyed art, PE, drumming and music through Makaton Choir. A very detailed drawing was done to decorate a drum for a music session with Keith – the drawing is of a hunter being chased by an African lady that is protecting the animals!

We also took time to relax, both indoors and out.

    Working Hard

    We worked hard on a range of learning activities and tasks, some online and some more practical.

    One of our senior pupils made an amazing cat house as part of her SQA work. I think you’ll agree, this is for one very lucky cat!

      Assembly

      Finally, to round off the week we had an Assembly. We talked about mental health and the theme ‘Express Yourself’. Staff shared the ways that they express themselves and show that they’re unique. The slides are available to view in the Google Assembly classroom for anyone that was unable to join us. Our challenge for the next assembly on 12th February is to share a photo of us doing something that we enjoy – anything goes!

      A Busy Week Of Learning In Primary

        By

      Wow! It has been a very busy week across the Primary Department, both in school and at home and once again, you have blown us all away with how hard you have all been working on developing your skills and learning.

      Here’s just a wee snapshot of what’s been happening over the week.

      Big Burns Day Celebration

      On Monday, we held our first whole school themed activity day as we celebrated the birth of Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns.

      There were lots of fun activities for everyone to participate in whether they were at home or in school.

      We got creative and designed our own versions of the saltire flag.

      We made shortbread and of course we had to make sure they tasted good!

      We were very fortunate to have one of our Pupils Support Assistants, Claire, play the bagpipes for us on Monday. One pupil had a go at creating his own Scottish music at home using a chanter.

      In the afternoon there were a series of live Google Meets hosted by our drumming instructor, Keith and our music therapist, Emmeline. It was great to see so many familiar faces join in with the drumming, ceilidh and Makaton choir sessions.

      It’s safe to say that everyone had a fantastic day and a huge thanks to everyone who helped to organise this event and everyone who participated so enthusiastically!!

      Karen’s Creative Challenge

      Last week Karen, Head of Primary, set everyone a tower building challenge. This week she challenged us to develop our throwing skills and as you can see below, we all had a great time taking part! We’re looking forward to seeing what challenge Karen sets us next week.

      Keeping Active

      It’s important to keep active and we’ve been busy using equipment in school and at home, working on developing our balance and core strength as well as relaxing with some yoga. We’ve explored the great outdoors and despite the cold and wet weather this week, we still managed to have fun with some puddle jumping!!

      Life Skills

      You’ve continued to share with us with how you’ve been progressing in the development of your life skills. You’ve been very busy making lots of yummy looking treats, washing your hands and we are absolutely amazed with how well one pupil managed to use chopsticks.

      Another pupil has been developing his independent feeding skills and we were delighted to see him not only try tastes of foods but also help feed himself via his gastrostomy tube. We were really impressed with his co-ordination!

      Working Hard

      Everyone has been busy working and learning new skills over the week.

      Pupils in Room 5 have started reading the book The Colour Monster. Throughout the book different colours are associated with different emotions. This week they were exploring the colour yellow which represents happiness. These yellow themed activities certainly looked cheerful and fun and brought a smile to our faces!

      Others were learning through play and sensory activities, developing their fine motor skills.

      We’ve also been developing our fine motor skills through a range of craft activities too.

      We’ve also been working hard on developing our communication and literacy skills this week.

      In this video, one pupil wowed us with his ability to anticipated what was coming next during the story ‘Hole At The Bottom Of The Sea’.

      His mum said ‘He actually got up off the chair knowing he had a seal somewhere about and had to grab it in line with the animals being mentioned as from the bottom of the sea! ‘ What a special WOW moment!

      As you can see it’s been a very busy week in the Primary Department and there has been lots of fun and lots of learning taking place. Keep on smiling, have a wonderful weekend and we can’t wait to see where our learning will take us next!

      Thank You!

        By

      A huge Orchard Brae thank you to Andy Gerrie for his fantastic fundraising efforts on behalf of the school!

      He has (very bravely) undertaken a sponsored shave and raised over £440!

      Your amazing efforts are much appreciated by all at Orchard Brae and we hope you’ve got a warm woolly hat handy!!

      Letter to Parents/Carers – 29th January 2021

        By ,

      Hi,

      I hope you are all well. I have a few things I would like to share as we come to the end of another week.

      I attend a weekly head teacher drop-in session with colleagues from Health Protection Scotland. They were able to share that the current lockdown restrictions are beginning to bring the number of cases down within the NHS Grampian area. Positive daily cases have dropped by about a third which is positive news. It is good to know that all of our hard work as a community is making a difference. 😊

      They also shared that NHS Grampian are in the top 3 of health boards when it comes to administering the vaccine.

      I hope you managed to join in some of the Burns Day fun on Monday. We have had some really positive feedback so thank you for sharing that with us.

      We have additional Chromebooks being delivered to pupils to support online access so please let the school know if you do not have a device for your child and we will do our best to remedy that.

      The First Minister will be reviewing restrictions on Tuesday 2nd February. I hope to be able to update in my email next week.

      The parental monthly newsletter from the Education Service will also be coming out via groupcall today as well as being uploaded on to our website.

      Please keep a look out for pictures of Andy Gerrie whose wife Ann is an EYP. He raised £440 by shaving his beard, eyebrows and head to help raise funds for the school. Very brave Andy and a big thank you.

      I hope the weather improves for the weekend and you are able to get some fresh air.

      Please take care and stay safe.

      Kind regards

      Caroline

      Room 13 Supporting Remote Learning

        By , , ,

      Room 13 have been distributing classwork to pupils at home who cannot access the school during the epidemic.

      Our pupils delivered work to pupils in Class 8 this week so that they would all have things to do at home.

      At the moment Room 13 is delivering learning packs to around 20 students per week as well as delivering food through the Fare Share to households.

      RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (29th-31st January)

        By , ,

      Today sees the start of the 42nd annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which sees birdwatchers across the country join in the UK’s largest garden wildlife citizen science project and we would love for pupils and staff at Orchard Brae to get involved.

      Taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch is really easy. Simply watch the birds for one hour at some point over the three days. This can be done in your garden, your local park or even sitting looking out your window!

      Last year, over 500,000 birds were counted by Big Garden Birdwatchers in Scotland giving real insight into how our birds are doing.

      Have a look at the RSPB website where you will find lots of fun activities and resources to help you participate in the Big Gard Birdwatch but here are a few to get you started.

      https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/

      Lucky Duck Story:

      Make A Bird Feeder:

      Make Paper Plate Birds:

      Tally Sheets:

      Here are some simple tally sheets that you can use to keep track of the birds you see.

      Don’t forget to let us know how you got on with the Big Garden Birdwatch survey and activities so please feel free to share any photos or videos via your child’s teacher, through Google Classroom, or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk. 

      PE at Home

        By , , , , , ,

      Our PE specialists have been working hard, supported by our Young Leaders from Howes Hoose. Have you had a look in the PE classroom yet?

      There are different activities each week to suit all ages and abilities. Here are a couple of activities demonstrated by the Young Leaders: throwing from a seated position and throwing from a standing position.

      If you do try out any of our PE at Home videos, please share your feedback with Salvi and Amanda by commenting on their links, sharing photographs or videos. They are keen to know what you are enjoying in order that they can provide activities to meet your needs, assess our pupils’ learning, and at Secondary level, use activities towards our National Qualifications and ASDAN awards.

      Art Activities

        By ,

      This week we have two new art activities for you to try.

      Activity 1: Climate Coalition Show The Love

      You might remember that last year we made green hearts with recycled materials instead of the usual red valentines hearts! They looked so good that they were going to be exhibited at a big event in the Shaftesbury Theatre in London! Then………lockdown😒

      There have been lots of disappointments for us recently with our artwork. But undeterred we keep showing the love! The green hearts are to show the love for our planet and I will be interested to see what you come up with! I don’t know what you have to work with but I know you will have some great ideas.

      Have a look at showthelove.org.uk for some more ideas and inspiration but here are a few ideas to get you started.

      Experiment with card, collage and paint.

      Make some green rice crispy hearts:

      You will need – 150g rice crispies, 100g unsalted butter, 100g marshmallows, Green food colouring (or blue and yellow mixed!), a Heart shaped cookie cutter.

      Directions – Melt the butter and marshmallows in a pan over a low heat. Add the food colouring and stir. Add crispies and stir. On a greased and lined baking tray shape the mixture into hearts using a cookie cutter or your fingers. Yum !

      Make an Andy Goldsworthy inspired sculpture with green leaves.

      Take some photos of frozen grass.

      Make some green salt dough make a heart.

      Blend some newspaper with food colouring. Add some seeds and make a flower bomb!

      Look at green foods.

      What is still green outside? You could try making a heart out of moss or lichen.

      Take some photos ! Send some pictures of your work and we can forward them to the climate coalition so they can see how creative the Orchard Brae pupils are!

      Activity 2: Flour Art

      This is a transient piece of art using flour and it can also be seen as a sensory therapeutic activity.

      As always, the process is the main focus rather than the outcome but I’d be glad to see any photos from school or home!

      Remember to warm up hands and eyes beforehand using some of the exercises we’ve practised before! This activity has been split into three levels focusing of different skills and levels of ability. Choose the one that is right for your learner but feel free the experiment and explore!

      Stage 1: With hand over hand support from an adult, explore the flour with your hands. Make marks in it using your fingers, hold it in your hand, squeeze and squash it, push it with your fingers or an object.

      Stage 2: With appropriate support, make a variety of marks in flour using a range of objects.

      Stage 3: With appropriate support and using a range of objects, make an image using flour which shows a variety of qualities of line, e.g. wavy, hatched, broken, spiral etc. How can you demonstrate choice and decision making during the activity?

      Extension: You could always try and make these activities a bit more challenging. Can you add another texture to the flour, e.g. pulses or pasta? How does the texture change? Is it still easy to make marks in these?

      If you can take some pictures of your floury explorations to share that would be wonderful so please feel free to share any photos or videos via your child’s teacher, through Google Classroom, or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary)  adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk. 

      Home Economics Activities

        By ,

      This week we have some recipes to help you make cheese straws at home. Have a go and see which one you like the best.

      Cheese Pooh Sticks

      Cheese Straws

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cheese_straws_79467

      Quick Cheese Straws

      https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/quick-cheese-straws

      Junior Bake Off Cheese Straws

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/thingstodo/jbo-recipe-cheese-straws

      We would love to see how you get on with you Home Economics activities so please feel free to share any photos or videos via your child’s teacher, through Google Classroom, or email Amy Dunnett (Principal Teacher Primary) adunnett@aberdeencity.gov.uk.