The Oasis

Friday, 19 June 2015

Guide Dog pupdate

Guide Dog Pupdate

Our puppies Harley and Flint have now finished their training and are now with their new owners, helping them live independent lives and sharing in many wonderful life experiences as well as the usual daily chores.

Harley

Harley is now living in Hampshire with his new owner David. They have settled together extremely well and have already been on quite an adventure. Harley went with David up to Wembley Arena to listen to Andre Rieu in concert! David said Harley was amazing, particularly as it was his first busy experience. It was very busy in the station but Harley coped extremely well and was a brillian guide.

David and Harley love going on walks and meeting people and Harley creates quite a lot of interest when they are out. David has said what a huge difference Harley has made to his life, enabling him to go places he otherwise would have been reluctant to go to.

Over the summer David is looking forward to spending time in his greenhouse and garden and having Harley alongside him. Apparently Harley loves being in the Greenhouse!

Flint

Flint has also now graduated and is now living in Hull with his new owner, Maurice. They have only been together for 6 weeks but Maurice and Flint already have a great partnership. Maurice has said how Flint has "really changed my life for the better". He enjoys sitting at Maurices feet when not working and being stroked. He is apparently a very affectionate dog.

Maurice says they love walking into the village and going on long walks and 'free running'. Maurice lets Flint off in the large fields near his home so he can go on a big run. He explains that although he can't see where Flint is as soon as he blows his whistle he comes straight back to him.

Flint is a very obedient guide dog and very well behaved. Maurice used to be a keen cyclist until his sight deteriorated so much that he couldn't cycle any more. Maurice explained that having to give up cycling was heart breaking for him, but Flint has very much filled that void.

Our puppies have really grown up and are now really changing peoples lives. On behalf of the Guide Dogs and everyone here at Kings Copse, Thank you everyone for supporting out puppies on their journey to becoming full guide dogs.

To see our puppies in action, please visit the following links:
sponsorapuppy.org.uk/puppy-Flint

sponsorapuppy.org.uk/puppy-Harley

A little bit of technology....

How do you fill a bucket of water to fill up your dinosaur swamp if you are visually impaired? How do you know when it's full?

The answer is by using a little bit of technology provided by the RNIB....a liquid level indicator. This little box sits on the edge of whatever you are filling, bucket, tea cup etc. When the liquid level meets the 3 prongs of the device, it vibrates and and beeps to tell you to stop pouring.

This proved very handy for all the Reception children this morning. They found it very useful to tell the child in charge of the tap when to stop. The end result....a brilliant dinosaur swamp!

Friday, 12 June 2015

Paultons Park 2015

On the second Wednesday of every June the Rotary Club of Great Britain organise 'Kids Out' across the whole of the country. This is an invitation to children who are in Special Schools and Specialist Provisions to spend a day out of school at a local fun park. For the pupils at Kings Copse VI resource this meant....Paultons Park! We were sponsored by Hedge End Rotary Club, who the whole school helped with the Christmas Shoe Box appeal. We had a brilliant day with fine weather. The pupils were given a free choice on what rides they wanted to ride on; the daredevils flew on the Cobra and the Edge (with white knuckled staff accompanying!), while the more cautious glided on the mini-railway and sampled Peppa Pig World.

A BIG thank you to Elizabeth and all at Hedge End Rotary Club, we had a great day!

Monday, 8 June 2015

Sports Day 2015

The whole school was blessed with the weather last Friday. Despite a poor forecast and even a plan for postponement, come Friday lunchtime the sun popped out and a brilliant afternoon of sporting fun began.

For our pupils with a visual impairment this meant full inclusion and participation.

There was no getting away from having your class mates squeezing a wet sponge over your head! .....

....Or making all those saucers cups, or is it cups to saucers?

There was some fantastic 'hula hooping'....

....and being part of the house team in relay races....

..... some guided running ....

....as well as gritted determination in the egg and spoon race....

...and the sack race.

All the pupils at Kings Copse had a great afternoon. Our VI pupils were fully included in all the sports, which was fantastic!

A particular thank you to all the parents and families that came along to offer your support. The cheering and clapping that went up to support the registered blind pupil above, on what will be her last Sports day at Kings Copse, as she finished her running race was so touching. Her face lit up as she heard the support and reached the finish line!

Thank You!

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Bursledon Brickworks

On the afternoon of Wednesday 6th May, the VIP club visited Bursledon Brickworks.

To give us the maximum time to explore and experience this amazing museum, we decided to take our lunches with us. The museum staff were very accommodating, letting us eat our lunches in the cafe.

Then, with appropriate Victorian health & safety headwear (a flat cap!) we started our tour.

We learnt all about digging out the clay for the bricks, including where the phrase 'hard graft' cones from - a Scandinavian word for the clump of clay! Also the phrase 'as happy as a sand boy', which was the easy starting job for young boys!

This was an example of a conveyor belt used to transport the clay, and where stones were picked out to stop exploding bricks.

We had to work out which was the good brick, and which had too much clay or too much sand.

There was the huge brick making machine, which filled the room!

We had a go at using the barrow to transport fresh bricks.....it was quite tricky!

Then we got to smell the great big oily steam engine that drove the machinery.

We even had a go with the giant spanners!

The tour was a fantastic sensory experience, but it was just the build up to the main event.......making our own personalised bricks, that once baked, would be part of a brick sculpture to be built later this year!

So here's how to make a brick demonstrated by some of our VI pupils.

1. Get a lump of clay and roll in sand.

2. Then using a mould called a 'frog' throw the clay down hard, and the push and squeeze the clay so it fills every bit.

3. Remove the excess clay with a 'strike'.

4. Finally tap the opposite corners of the mould to release the soft brick.

All the children made a brick, with a little assistance and then put a design or pattern on one face.

Now they will be fired and then used in a brick sculpture to be built later this year. We are looking forward to returning to the Brickworks to find our bricks!

We had a brilliant afternoon at the Brickworks, the weather was miserable but we all left with very happy faces. It was a really good sensory experience for our pupils, with loads of things to smell and touch. The staff were so welcoming, and they provided a superb tour as well as the brick making experience, which all the children loved.

THANK YOU to Bursledon Brickworks!!

Friday, 1 May 2015

'Trim-trail' fun!

We were very lucky today at our monthly In-Reach, the rain held off until 3pm, which meant the children could experience the challenge of Kings Copse's new 'trim-trail'.