All posts by Mrs Kerr

Term 1 Primary PE

Our athletes in Hopetoun, Lomond, Pentland and Glendevon have been working hard, training towards our first ever MATP Challenge Event on Monday 1st December. They can’t wait to showcase their unique achievements to family and friends (more details will be shared closer to the time, but I am excited to see everyone supporting their athlete with posters, banners or maybe even personalised t-shirts!).

What is MATP?
The Special Olympics Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP) is a unique programme specifically designed for athletes of all ages with Profound and Multiple, Physical and Intellectual Disabilities and/or Complex Support Needs.

It focuses on developing individual skills and abilities rather than direct competition, ensuring each athlete can achieve personal bests and celebrate their achievements.

It is made up of 4 core sport specific MATP skill areas:
• Mobility (gross motor skills)
• Dexterity (fine motor skills)
• Kicking (lower body skills)
• Striking (upper body skills)

 

MATP enables our athletes to increase physical activity, improve motor skills, build confidence, increase participation in sport activities and foster a positive self-image.

Hopetoun Athletes

Lomond Athletes

Pentland Athletes

Glendevon Athletes

 

Group 1 Swimming 🏊

Well done to our first group of swimmers who just completed their block at Bathgate Xcite.

They worked so hard, gaining confidence and developing skills in the early stages of buoyancy, co-ordination, spatial awareness, breathing, and entering and leaving the pool safely.

3 swimmers achieved their Beatlie Aqua Bronze Award and 1 swimmer was presented with a Beatlie Swimming Progress Award. Well done everyone ⭐ we are so proud of you 😊

Term 1 Secondary PE

On Monday afternoons athletes in Ochiltree and Duntarvie have been coming together to develop their physical activity and motor skills.

After a fun warm-up altogether, we split into 3 groups:
  • Striking & kicking activities (based on the Special Olympics Motor Activity Training Programme) with Louise
  • Music & movement (using activities from Physiobods and the MOVE programme) with Jill
  • Boccia & New Age Kurling (focusing on teamwork) with Rachael

Then we finish off with a whole group cool down and relax.

Striking & Kicking Activities

Music & Movement Activities

Boccia & New Age Kurling

ASN Fun Run

Today 4 of our athletes represented Beatlie at the ASN Fun Run at Cedarbank School.

The boys took part in the 0.5km walk/run  🏃‍♂️‍➡️ and placed 4th, 9th and 12th out of 20 competitors.

In the 1km wheelchair race our female athlete came 1st!! 🥳

We are super proud of them as this was a really busy event with lots of new faces and an unfamiliar route.

Football Festival

Today some of our learners attended the ASN Football Festival at Broxburn Athletic FC. They had a fantastic time, working on kicking and dribbling skills, and especially enjoyed playing a a giant game of hungry hippos!

Pre-loved clothing event

Last term Ochiltree took part in lots of upcycling projects and today was their final project as they hosted a pre-loved clothing event. They worked very hard to sort and lay out all the clothes, then today everyone had a job to do such as greeting the visitors and manning the stalls. This event also helped us mark the launch of our non school uniform clothing bank.

Some pupils and staff came along for a browse too!

Caroline from the Advice Shop also came along to support families with any questions.

 

 

Boccia & Curling Festival

Last week 3 of our pupils attended the ASN Boccia and Curling Festival run by Active Schools with the college students at West Lothian College.

We took part in lots of different stations to develop our throwing and rolling skills, and had lots of fun!

 

 

Pentland Term 4

We can’t believe it’s nearly the end of the first year in our amazing new school!

We’ve had another very busy term, working hard to develop our individual skills and abilities…

Once again we have also enjoyed getting out and about to horse riding and swimming…

Pentland would like to wish everyone a happy and well earned holiday.

 

 

Pentland Term 3

It’s been another busy term, but our highlight has definitely been getting out and about in the local community visiting the library, café and shop. This has been a great opportunity to cover different areas of the curriculum and develop a variety of skills.
On the walk we have been developing our stamina, working on going up and down steps and developing awareness of personal safety when near roads. We have also experienced engineering in the world around us and loved making echoes under the bridges!
At the library we worked on literacy skills including handling books, enjoying different stories and choosing a story to take back to school to share with our friends.
At the café we have been developing our interaction and communication skills through ordering and asking for the bill. We have also experienced handling money which is part of numeracy and developed life skills of eating and intimate care in a different environment.
At the shop we again experienced using money to pay for an item, as well as selecting an item from a choice and waiting our turn in a queue.
Finally, we experienced computing devices in the local environment, such as automatic doors, book scan in the library and self-scan in the shop.

Most importantly it is has been lots of fun!!