P3/4 have been learning about parts of a plant and what each part does. They have also learned about photosynthesis – the process where plants make energy for carbon dioxide and water using energy from the sun and chlorophyll in leaves. They used a new app on the ipads called Explain Everything to show what they had learned.
Seeds from Space
P3/4 are now officially plant scientists. Along with lots of other schools from across the country we are taking part in a scientific experiment to find out about the effect of space on plant growth. We were given two packets of seeds from the Royal Horticultural Society – one normal rocket seeds and the other a packet that have been to the International Space Station with Tim Peake. We have learned all about fair testing and randomisation and the seeds are now sitting waiting to grow. We will keep you posted of progress and our results!
First Rocket Seed Germinates
Our first rocket seed has germinated!! It was only planted 2 days ago!!
Trip to the Pontoons
On Monday 25th April P3/4 went to see the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust boat. It is called the Silurian.
The Silurian was fancy. It had ten beds, a toilet, a shower and a galley. On deck there was a huge steering wheel and dials. A digital map was on top of the steering wheel. There was a thing that tells you how much knots the wind is going. The boat is 20m long, double the size of my dad’s boat because my dad’s is only 10m.
I learned about whales and dolphins. The biggest whale in Scotland is the minke whale and the smallest is the porpoise.
By Drew, P3
Whale and Dolphin Boat
On Monday we went to visit the Silurian. It was awesome. There were ten beds. We had to search for things up on top of the deck and down below the deck. They had toilets and showers on the boat.
Then we did learning about whales and dolphins where we listened to the sounds they made under the water. I learned that sperm whales have 40 teeth in their mouth and they go deep down into the sea and use clicks to see their prey.
By Donald, P4
Silurian Visit
On Monday 25th April we went down to the pontoons at the pier to see the Silurian which is the boat of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. We had to put on life jackets.
The Silurian was a yacht. It was very nice and fancy. First we investigated the boat. We found out that the boat had ten beds, a galley, a bathroom, a dining room, a crows nest, a steering wheel, two masts and sails. The front of the boat is the bow and the back is the stern.
I learned about basking sharks. I also learned about the sounds of dolphins and whales and that people listen for the sounds underwater using a hydrophone.
By Ciaran, P4
Port Ellen Primary School’s Clubs.
We are now starting clubs for the summer term since P567 have had training in leadership skills. A club will run every day lunch break. On Monday is football run by Ross, Ronan and Darren, on Tuesday is rounders run by Ruaridh, Bronagh and Matthew, Wednesday is fitness club run by Struan, Katie and Taylor, Thursday is art club run by Mirren, Sophie and Joe, Friday is book club run by Eva, Ellie and Kaitlyn. All of these clubs will be starting next week on Monday 25th april 2016. The clubs will be enjoyed by every single person in the school.
Respect Value
Port Ellen Primary School has 4 values they are respect, resilience, honesty and success. We have been talking about respect. We have come up with different ideas of how to show respect here are some of our ideas. Be kind and caring to everyone around you, remember your manners, Don’t be cheeky to adults. We have been talking about this at our early assembly’s on a Monday morning. We are going to have a character for respect value and all the other values. We always get told on assembly’s on a Friday to always respect one another. Every week we will pick a new value and we will discuss that one until the next week.
The Scottish Mathematical Challenge
This year pupils at Port Ellen primary school took part in the Scottish Mathematical Challenge where they had to answer problem solving questions 3 times over the year showing their working out. To get a bronze award you couldn’t lose more than 10 points, to get a silver award you couldn’t lose more than 6 points and to get a gold award you couldn’t lose more than 3 points. Rebecca, Katie, Ross and Matthew got a bronze award and I got a silver award missing out on a gold award by only one point! I feel happy because I got a silver I am also very surprised because I didn’t think my problem solving was that good. One of the questions was “Maureen, Alice and Siobhan are three young sisters, in that order of age. Alice is two years older than Siobhan. Each year, their wealthy aunt gives each of them, for each year of her age, as many pounds as she is years old. For example, on her first birthday a girl would receive one pound and on her third birthday nine pounds. The aunt has promised to continue this family custom with each girl until her twelth birthday. This year Maureen received as much as Alice and Siobhan put together.
How much will Siobhan receive next year?” I found this quite tricky. There was also a question about a diagram that represents a rectangular net, which is made from string notted together at different points. Another one was about a diving competition where there are 5 judges that each awards a whole-number from 1-10 and you had to work out all the possible scores awarded. It was really challenging but helped me get better at my maths problem solving. There is an award ceremony in June in Glasgow. Next year I will try to get a gold.
Easter Assembly
P3/4 put on a fantastic Easter Assembly and Daffodil Tea for parents afterwards. The audience enjoyed the performance and great singing. We even made our own stained glass window backdrop for our assembly, which told the Easter story.
