Toucans
Welcome to Toucan Class
Toucan Class is a class of seven gorgeous children who are supported by five staff members. The staff are:-
Sarah - class teacher
Annette - HLTA
Helen- TA
Kay- TA
Cara - Apprentice
Georgia -TA
The children in Toucan Class follow the "Sparkle Curriculum" which is delivered in a multi-sensory, creative way which enables pupils to access learning using their senses.
The Sparkle Curriculum is:-
- Motivating - our pupils learn when they are interested, stimulated and engaged
- Relevant - the curriculum is relevant to the learning styles of the pupils and takes into account their prior knowledge and learning needs
- Challenging -all teaching staff have high and realistic expectations of the pupils and use specialised, inclusive teaching strategies
- Focused-shared targets are taken from EHCPs, Physiotherapists, OT,SALT and are central to the pupil's provision
Important Dates-
Toucan Class have swimming every Tuesday afternoon and every Thursday morning.
26th of May- Training Day - school closed to pupils
29th of May-2nd of June - Half Term
5th of June - Return to School
20th of July - End of Term
Sports Day - Thursday the 13th of July -
Today was Sports Day. We all had a very busy time and it was lovely to see so many happy and smiling faces. Toucan Class loved spending time with their family. Thank you to everyone that came. And the sun shone too!
Week Beginning- Monday the 3rd of July-
Tall Ships Week-
This week we have been celebrating the arrival of the Tall Ships. We have had a Pirate Day, where we dressed up, and played lots of different pirate activities. We had a Tall Ships assembly, where we sang the "Wellerman Song," and we had a very special visit from the Tall Ships mascot. What a busy week!
Thursday the 22nd of June-
Our trip to Tweddle's Farm-
On Thursday, we visited Tweddle's Farm. It was very hot but we all had a fantastic time. We visited some different animals, we played on all of the climbing frames, we bounced on the gigantic pillows but our favourite part of all was riding on the tractor.
Week Beginning - 12th of June-
Personal, Social and Emotional Development -
This week, it has been very warm. Toucan Class have had lots of fun playing and learning outside. This week, Annette took the children outside to read our text, "Walking in the Jungle." Thank you Annette.
Friday the 9th of June-
A Sensory Experience-
This week, we have been reading our new text, "Walking Through The Jungle." On Friday, we went on a sensory walk outside as if we were in the jungle. Some Toucans really enjoyed this walk and some Toucans found this a challenge! Thank you Cheryl for your help in setting this up.
Friday the 19th of May-
Personal, Social and Emotional Development-
50th Birthday Celebrations at Throston-
Today, we continued our birthday celebrations by visiting Throston School for a special assembly and party on their field. The children in Toucan Class came dressed up or in non- uniform. Don't they look fantastic! The children were very well-behaved during the assembly.
Thursday the 18th of May.
Celebration of our 50th Birthday.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development-
Today, we began the celebrations for our joint 50th birthday with Throston School. A group of children came to visit us from Throston. We made ice cream together and everyone was very well behaved. Thank you for coming to visit us.
Friday the 12th of May-
Our visit to the farm.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World.
On Friday, Toucan Class went on an exploration of their own. We went to visit Tweddle's Farm. We went to see the goats to link to our story. We saw lots of other animals and went on a tractor ride. At the end of the visit, we went to jump on the pillows. The weather was a bit miserable but we still managed to have loads of fun!
Thursday the 4th of May-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Today, we celebrated the Coronation of the King that is coming up this weekend. We decorated our own versions of a stamp by filling in an outline of the King.
Thursday the 27th of April-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Today, we also visited some animals that had arrived in school. They were very exciting and some animals we had never seen before; including a skunk and a red-footed tortoise. The tortoise was called Cherry because of her red spots. We were very excited to see all of the animals. Some of us were more excited than others!
Thursday the 27th of April-
Communication and Language/Physical Development-
Today was No Pens Day at Springwell. In Toucan Class, we decided to take this opportunity to practice our communication in the pool by using PECS. This helps both our speaking and listening and our swimming skills. The children were encouraged to choose a toy from one side of the pool and then swim over to the other side of the pool to collect it. Cheryl was there to help us and to give us the toys. Thank you Cheryl.
Wednesday the 19th of April -
Literacy/ Physical Development-
We have continued with our new text this week, "The Three Billy Goat's Gruff," and on Wednesday we walked to the park and "Trip, trapped" over the bridge. We made a lot of noise! Thankfully, there were no trolls under this bridge.
We came back to school and listened to the story again using the tuff tray.
Week Beginning - 17th of April -
Literacy and Physical Development-
Today, we began to read our new text, "The Three Billy Goat's Gruff." We read the story together and then we walked over our own bridge in the classroom! We then went on to practice our fine motor skills by filling in the gaps with paint on our pictures of the three billy goats gruff.
Friday the 31st of March-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Today, we had two very special visitors to Toucan class! We all had a fantastic time and found lots of Easter eggs. Happy Holidays everyone!
Wednesday the 29th of March-
Physical Development-
Today, we went round to the trim trail to play on the bigger equipment. As it had been very rainy the day before, we put on our new blue outdoor suits. These kept us dry and we had lots of fun outside. It was also very easy to spot us amongst the other children!
Friday the 24th of March-
Communication and Language-
Today, Cheryl came to complete a Speech and Language session with Toucan class. We looked at lots of different foods that were coloured yellow. This included; custard, yellow pepper, macaroni cheese and lemon. The children were fantastic and tasted some of the new foods.
Wednesday the 15th of March-
Literacy-
Today, we read the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." We find the three bears in our main story of "Each, Peach, Pear, Plum."
Today, we read the story and investigated the props used. Then we made our own porridge and had lots of fun exploring it. It all got a bit messy!
Monday the 6th of March-
Literacy/Personal, Social and Emotional Development-
This morning, we have been looking very closely at Cinderella. She appears in our new book, "Each, Peach, Pear, Plum." We took off all of our shoes and mixed them up. Then we tried to find matching pairs and put our own shoes back on. We had some very good independent skills.
Friday the 3rd of March-
Literacy-
Today was the end of our World Book Day celebrations. Cheryl, our Speech and Language Therapy Assistant, came to join us this morning. We worked , individually, to make our own book which we then coloured in. Everybody was very sensible when using the book binder. Thank you Cheryl.
Thursday the 2nd of March-
World Book Day-
Today is World Book Day. Some of our lovely Toucans came to school as book characters, some just came as themselves -wonderful! We even had a Fantastic Mr Fox!
Week beginning -13.02.23-
Literacy- Reading-
Toucan Class have been exploring our book area this week. We love books in Toucan class and read daily. Our reading skills are really improving. Some of us like to get settled in the reading corner with a bear as a friend and a cushion to keep us comfy!
Friday the 3rd of February-
Communication and Language-
Today, Cheryl, our Speech and Language Therapy Assistant, came to help the Toucans make cornflake crispy cakes. We used our communication boards to help us exchange for the correct items. The Toucans all enjoyed mixing and tasting the ingredients. The cakes were gorgeous when finished.
Thursday the 2nd of February-
Physical Education-
Today, we have been to our swimming pool . This is part of our weekly routine. We have all gained in confidence in the pool and today some of us completed some reading whilst in the pool. All of the Toucans are trying their best to help with their dressing skills. Well done Toucans!
Wednesday the 25th of January-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Today, in Science, we learnt about some of the uses of water. This is linked to our "Gingerbread Man" story. We looked at some photographs of how people used water and then we washed the baby doll in the bath. All of the Toucans were engaged in this and washed the baby carefully. Some of them even turned on the taps! Well done Toucans!
Friday the 20th of January-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Chinese New Year-
Today, across school, we celebrated Chinese New Year. We began by painting some rabbits as it it the year of the Rabbit. Then we completed a Speech and Language session with Cheryl where we made a Chinese lantern and a hopping rabbit. All of the children enjoyed this very much.
We finished the morning by having a Chinese lunch in the dining hall. We all tried the noodles and rice. Some of us liked this more than others!
Wednesday the 18th of January-
Assembly-
Today was our class assembly, which we took part in with Caiman class. It celebrated the work we have completed on recognising and identifying different animals. Here are a few photographs of us in our costumes.
Friday the 13th of January-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Today we visited Pets at Home to look at the animals there as there are animals in the story of "The Gingerbread Man." We enjoyed our trip very much as we were able to see gerbils, guinea pigs and even some rats! Everyone was very well behaved.
Then we drove to North Gare and found some cows and sheep.
It was a great trip out.
Thursday the 12th of January-
Personal, Social and Emotional Development-
Today, the class took part in a Tacpac session. This took place in the Sensory Room. This is a sensory session that we always enjoy. For some of the Toucans this is a still a new experience. It is dark in the room to help us settle and remain calm so please excuse the photographs!
Tuesday the 10th of January-
Literacy and Personal , Social and Emotional Development-
Today the lady from the library visited. She told the story of "Aladdin." We liked this sensory story a lot and made an Aladdin's lamp together after the story.
After this visit, we had a session of Attention Autism. This is a session that helps us to focus and maintain concentration for longer. Toucan Class like these sessions a lot.
Welcome Back!
Maths, Physical Development and Personal and Social Development -
We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
We have had a busy first week back. Our new topic is "Stories" and we have begun with "The Gingerbread Man."
We have completed some Maths work , sequencing numbers 1-5, and practiced our cutting skills. We also made our very own Gingerbread Man to go onto our classroom wall. Finally, on Friday, we went to Asda to buy some ingredients to make gingerbread people next week.
Friday the 16th of December-
Christmas Dinner-
Today, we all had our Christmas dinner in the dining hall. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we wore our Christmas jumpers. Thank you to the kitchen staff for making our lunch.
Wednesday the 7th of December-
Understanding the World-
Today we went to visit St. Hilda's Church. It was very quiet when we arrived and we sat at the back. Then we had a good look around. We went in preparation for our church service next Monday. Everyone tried very hard and we were all well behaved.
Tuesday the 29th of November-
Physical Development-
Today, we completed our regular Rebound session. We always enjoy this and have lots of fun. We enjoy the physical exercise and we are getting much better now at listening and following the instructions.
Monday the 21st of November-
Design and Technology-
Today, we went to the Cookery room to make some Creepy Crawlies. This links to our book on "Superworm." We had lots of fun spreading the cheese with a knife and tasting new foods.
Wednesday the 16th of November-
Personal, Social and Emotional Development-
Anti- Bullying Week-
Today, in assembly we celebrated Anti- Bullying Week. We did this by going outside and playing with our friends. We played with lots of equipment and all had a fantastic time.
Wednesday the 9th of November-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World/Literacy-
Today, we had a day centred around our text, "Superworm." This morning, we went outside and had a look for worms. We turned upside down the planters and pots we found to look for the worms. Some of us were very happy to look at the worms closely but some of us were not keen at all!
This afternoon, we matched some pictures from the story to their matching words. When we had finished, we looked for some spaghetti worms in the soil. We used our tweezers to find them. We had a lot of fun and made a big mess!
Monday the 7th of November-
Expressive Arts-
Today, we have begun our new text, "Superworm." To celebrate this we have made some pasta worms. The children did brilliantly threading the pasta onto the wool. Later, we will paint them pink. Well done Toucans!
Bonfire Night-
We have had a brilliant time this afternoon. We joined together with Jaguar class. Annette and Andrew set up a fantastic firework display. We had a roaring fire, pretend of course, marshmallows, and hot dogs. Then Andrew let off some fizzy fireworks. We all had a brilliant time. Thank you to everyone who helped.
Monday the 31st of October-
Halloween -
Today was our first day back after the holiday and it was Halloween. Have a look at the Toucans dressed up! We took part in a gloopy, spooky, sensory session. It was very messy!
Thursday the 20th of October-
Personal, Social, Emotional Development-
Today has been a very wet day and Toucan Class were inside for most of the day. We have spent some time completing our workboxes. This is something we do daily. These activities are part of the TEACCH programme. This is a programme that encourages independent working on activities that have already been taught in class. Toucan Class are getting really good at working on their own. Well done Toucans!
Friday the 14th of October-
Maths and Music-
Today, we have had an exciting day in Toucan class. We began by completing some counting. We counted objects into Grandma's basket. This is linked to our text, "Little Red Riding Hood." Then we counted some new objects and matched some numbers to them.
After this, we got out the musical instruments. We played our musical instruments in time to some music. It was very noisy but everyone had a great time!
Wednesday the 12th of October-
Understanding the World and Literacy-
Today, Toucans have had a really busy day. This morning, we went on an Autumn walk. We walked through the leaves and talked about the different colours and the fact that they had fallen from the trees. On the way back to school, we visited the library and each of the children chose a book to look at.
This afternoon, we have had a Communication and Language session where we used a communication board to choose a toy. Toucan class tried really hard waiting and choosing their favourite toy.
Wednesday the 5th of October-
Personal, Social, Emotional Development-
Today, we visited Codbeck. We went on the bus with West View Project. It was very wet! We walked all the way around the beck and collected lots of different leaves for our display in the long corridor back at school. We splashed in every muddy puddle that we could find! Although it was very wet, we enjoyed ourselves very much. We had our lunch back in the classroom where it was warm and dry. One of us was so tired we had to have a nap on the bus on the way home!
Monday the 3rd of October-
Literacy -
Today we completed some mark making skills in our Literacy lesson. We wrote with big markers on our mini whiteboards. We made some different shapes, some lines and then we all had a go at writing our name. Lots of Toucan class concentrated for a long time on this activity and some had excellent pencil control.
Monday the 26th of September-
Physical Development-
This morning, we went to the Cookery Room to bake cakes. We thought Little Red Riding Hood may have had cakes in her basket when she visited her Grandma. Our new text is "Little Red Riding Hood." We had a taste of the ingredients to begin with and then we all stirred the cake mixture. Everybody took turns. Eva Grace wore an apron and , at the end of the session, enjoyed looking at her self in the mirror.
Wednesday the 21st of September-
Expressive Arts and Design-
Today, Mike came to visit us. We sang songs together and played some musical instruments. We all had a fabulous time. We used our voices and shared the instruments between all of us. Everyone took turns and we enjoyed singing a variety of songs.
Thursday the 15th of September-
Knowledge and Understanding of the World-
Today, we used our Computing skills. We have been reading the text, "Supertato" in class. We used the interactive whiteboard to make our own Mr Potato by dragging the different items of clothing to the potato. We made some fantastic designs. Some of us found this a bit tricky but we all tried our very best.
Wednesday the 14th of September-
Physical Development-
Today, we went out on our first trip out as class. We went to the swings at Greyfields as it was a lovely sunny day. We all managed to walk there and we had a fantastic time playing together in the sunshine.
