Today the pupils in Rowan were learning about what the Shabbat is in Judaism and how they celebrate this special time which starts on a Friday evening and finishes on a Saturday evening. During this time they eat challah bread, drink wine (blackcurrant juice) from a Kiddush cup, Shabbat candles are lit, special spices are smelt and candles are then put out in the wine at the end of the special time.
This term pupils in Rowan have been learning about Vikings, how they lived, where they lived and what they did to survive. Brianna said “The Vikings raided places to steal from the houses”. Olivia said “the material was scratchy” when she dressed as a Viking girl. Jenson said that the horn reminded him of the myth of Thor drinking from the sea. Pupils have used mod rock to make some helmets, so look out for them next week when they are finished.
Today at Durham Vocal Festival we had so much fun learning to sign songs with different schools from our region.
We developed our skills on signing with a song called ‘Don’t get stressed’. We learnt the signing to songs like ‘It’s a wonderful life’ and ‘Love Shine a Light’. There were performances from different schools and a band from the local area. It was excellent to see how much our children engaged in the signing and really found a new way to communicate through singing with signing.
We are so pleased to be part of the day and we have really enjoyed ourselves! Thank you to all at the Civic Centre in Stanley. We hope to see you all next year!
While Birch was waiting for dinner to end, we did a bit of meditation and focussed on our breathing by following different coloured bubbles and then doing a body scan identifying how our bodies feel. It encouraged us to stay focussed in lesson and allowed us to calm down after our play time.
The pupils in Rowan today took the opportunity to have a Big Tidy to the side of the building, has over the Autumn all the leaves have fallen and made quite a build up. They identified health and safety procedures to follow such as wearing disposable gloves, tell an adult if their was any broken bits of equipment to help them clear it safely and use the refuse sacks to put all the leaves into before going to the skip.
During PESSPA play in primary the pupils enjoy a wide range of activities to participate in to encourage play and health and well being. It’s that time of year when the garden section can start to be developed to encourage nature. A group help to ensure the garden and grounds are clear and tidy with litter picking. The climbing frame, football and scooter areas are a big favourite for the rest to engage and play together safely and part of a team.
This week Jenson and Mahmoud have been working on turn taking and sharing social skills. They have played games, bubble blowing and this afternoon enjoyed working together to feed the wild birds in the school garden. Jenson said the food was “Mess” when he kept pouring through the feeder onto the floor and laughing.
Some of our Year 11’s have started their work experience over the last couple of weeks. Finley has been helping Rowan class by cleaning out the guinea pigs and making sure they are fed and comfortable in their cages. And since they both love sport, Shay and Aaron have been helping out with Primary PE lessons on a Friday afternoon. Well done guys, you’re all superstars and staff are so thankful for the work you have been doing!
During intervention this week the group have worked on developing their personal and social development skills and emotions. They followed the visual structure and routine to clean their teeth and the importance of keeping them clean and healthy. Jenson was very happy piping mashed potato out onto emotions boards and saying which emotion it was. Marshall was very happy outside joining in the game of find the emotion game in the forest school area.