All posts by Miss McNaughton

Ochiltree, Uncategorized

Ochiltree 2021/22

Leave a comment

I cannot believe I am writing 2021/22 already!

In saying that we are all so happy to be back at school and ready to get into action with all the new and exciting changes happening in the secondary department.

This year we are hoping to be more interactive with each other and experience and participate in new group activities with our friends from Duntarvie.

The children will all continue to work on building their personal skills to develop their independence where possible as well as working on life skills through SQA and ASDAN qualifications.

There are also lots of whole school activities to look forward to and fingers crossed we will be able to see you all soon back at school for some Beatlie socialising.

There are a few new faces in Ochiltree and we are enjoying getting to know one another. This year we have Aria, Luca, Sophie, William, Vanessa and Rylie who will be supported and encouraged by Sandra, Alison, Anna, Caitlin, Louisa and Emma with Catherine covering when required.

The Ochiltree 2021-2022 Team

Ochiltree

Ochiltree 2020/21

Leave a comment

What a year!

Despite all the restrictions and changes over the past year we have managed to survive and cope tremendously well with a new way of life in Beatlie.

The children in Ochiltree adapted so well and have shown a great determination to develop and build on their skills as well as have fun in all the different activities new and old.

The Ochiltree team has had lots to deal with and we came together and enjoyed supporting the children to work on their independence skills and communication. Over the year you have witnessed how impressive they have been.

We have also had lots to do with Learning for Sustainability and helping out in the community which has been vitally important in this climate. The children all helped to start and maintain a vegetable garden producing vegetables used in our recipe book and cooking the different dishes as part of our Connectng Classrooms project with schools in Africa. We have also planted lots of flowers to encourage diversification and they are beginning to bloom with the summer sun.

There are so many moments I would love to share with you but I don’t know where I would stop. Please have a look at our video which gives just a short peek into life in Ochiltree.

Myself, Anna, Gina, Jacqueline, Shonet & Catherine would like to wish you all a fantastic summer and look forward to seeing you all again soon x

 

Whole School

Gardening Week 2021

Leave a comment

Beatlie have been hard at it again this week

But I am sure everyone will agree that they had fun with all the different gardening projects they were involved in!

We all had different jobs to do in and around the school grounds maintaining and tidying up areas to make the place look nice for all the times we will be out in the garden to enjoy the summer weather that we hope to get for a couple of weeks before the holidays.

We also took on a special community based project this year – Street Sign Planting. We wanted to take this on and be a part of the community of Craigshill who are coming together to make improvements within the local environment. The staff and children have done an excellent job and I hope you are able to enjoy the blooms when they come out over the coming weeks.

 

Whole School

World Bee Day @ Beatlie 2021

Leave a comment

We have all had a fabulous day celebrating World Bee Day in our own Beatlie way!

You will see from the film all the lovely interesting & interactive activities we have enjoyed bringing lots of smiles to our faces.

We hope you have had fun having a go at the bee quiz to see what type of bee you are and that you will support the cause for bees in our country by providing bee friendly environments where you can.

Next week we will be participating in the UK National Children’s Gardening Week so we will be continuing the theme of creating bee friendly environments as well as lots of other exciting project ideas – so come back next week to see what we have been up to.

Whole School

World Bee Day

Leave a comment

Today we are celebrating World Bee Day in Beatlie.

This year’s theme is ‘Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees’

So what’s the buzz about bees?

A third of the world’s food production depends on bees.

Bees pollinate (a process vital to crops growing) three quarters (75%) of leading global crops, including oilseed rape, apples, soft fruits, beans and courgettes, as well as things like tomatoes and strawberries.

Bees are vital for maintaining the balance between living organisms such as human beings, plants, and animals as well as their environment.

They also help reduce pollution.

Scientific studies have proven that bees have become increasingly endangered. So what can be done to help?

  • Planting bee-friendly plants like heather and daisies and red clover on balconies, terraces, and in gardens can help
  • Leaving sections of the garden wild and letting the grass grow long gives the bees a place to shelter
  • Create a bee hotel for your garden’s bee population
  • Leaving a small dish with a few pebbles and shallow water in can help if a bee is thirsty
  • There are also special bricks which bees can live in
  • Don’t use pesticides as they are really harmful to bees
  • Buy honey and other hive products from your nearest local beekeeper

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/quizzes/which-bee-would-you-be-quiz

Welcome - Celebrate World Bee Day

 

Ochiltree

Term 3 Ochiltree

Leave a comment

Phew – another term over can you believe it!!

What a great time we have had this term despite all the restrictions. We have been able to fill our time with lots of new and exciting opportunities and experiences.

We have really missed William and Rylie and hope that they will be back to join us soon.

Aria, Luca and Vanessa have been busy working towards their ASDAN and SQA qualifications throughout the term and it has been fantastic to see them build on their skills and show the progress they have made through the different activities they have participated in.

We have tried out new games which has been sooo much fun for both the staff and the children. Our table top games have been a hit with a variety of games played over the term – Scalextrics is the clear favourite when given the choice! We have got some new games to try next term – I wonder what the favourite will be? In PE we also tried out some old and new activities but this term we had it in the class so a little different. This didn’t put off the children and we still had great fun with bowling, parachute and curling to name a few. Next term we will be trying out some different activities in the hall again – maybe outside too if the weather gets better.

We have been making the most of the good weather recently and been going on lots of walks and bike rides around the local area. Aria is helping her aunty to clock up some miles for a sponsored walk she is participating in for Beatlie!

Our gardening project has also been brilliant and all the children have really taken to the different activities involved – we just need to be patient now and see what comes from all of our hard work. We are hoping that after the Easter holidays we will be busy maintaining the garden and harvesting towards the summer.

I could go on and on about all the fantastic work and achievements we have made over the term so have a look at just a few of our photos showing how much fun school can be!

Whole School

Fairtrade Fortnight Week 2

Leave a comment

What a fantastic 2 weeks of Fairtrade Activities we have immersed ourselves in at Beatlie.

Thank you to all the staff for providing and supporting the children in participating in such fun activities and sharing the message of how important it is for us all to support Fairtrade Farmers and Workers in the world we live in today!

Whole School

Fairtrade Fortnight Week 1

Leave a comment

(Article 27, every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and social needs and support their development)

What a busy week we have had immersing ourselves in all things Fairtrade!

Please have a look at the films below to give you a taster of what we have been up to.

 

Whole School

Foodbank Collection

Leave a comment

THANK YOU

Wow what generosity! Amazing to see so much come into school despite the circumstances we are under at the moment. There will be very appreciative families out there who will be so thankful for the donations you have given, so on behalf of those families and from Beatlie – Thank You!

Under normal circumstances we would have a visit to the foodbank with some of the children taking the boxes along – unfortunately we will not be able to do this at this time so a member of staff is arranging a drop off for next week.

 

Ochiltree, Uncategorized

Welly Boot Planters

Leave a comment

I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all who donated some of their old/unused wellies. They are fantastic and have been put to good use.

I have put together a sway to show you what we have done with the wellies and hopefully in May/June we can update you with some beautiful ‘blooming’ flower displays!

We have made some bee homes so it will be brilliant if the flowers attract them to the courtyard garden.