As part of their learning about Islay Prehistory P4/5 went up to see the standing stone outside Port Ellen. They were amazed at it’s height up close and how people long ago managed to get such a big piece of rock into a stand
Port Ellen Primary School Bramble Picking
On Wednesday 7th September Mrs.Clark’s class and P1/2/3 went bramble picking at the croft road. There was 2 people in each pair and every pair was given 1 bag to put the brambles they find in. As we set off to get brambles a buildbase lorry went by and we all had to get on the grass and let the lorry pass. After the lorry was gone we started to pick the brambles and there was a lot of brambles found just at the start of the road. Matthew and his little brother William started to get further down the road. People were on left and right trying to get the biggest and most purple brambles so that they can make the best bramble jam. Ciaran was always at the front of all the people just because some people at the front said that they would get the most brambles because they were at the front. Closer to the end of the path there were more brambles but most of us decided to take out time because if we did that we could still find a lot of brambles which no one knows about. We picked over 5Kg of brambles and made it into bramble jam. Yum!
Forth Road Bridge
Today Ellie, Kaitlyn and Sarah found out about the Forth Road Bridge because their class are going to Stirling for an annual school trip and will be visiting the bridge. They will be visiting Bannockburn, The Forth Road Bridge, Stirling castle and Stirling university.
There are three bridges; The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge, The Forth Bridge is cantilever and the new bridge, the Queensferry Crossing, is the longest cable stayed bridge in the world. We found out that over 70,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day and over 24 million vehicles cross the bridge every year. It took around 6 years to build and seven people died building it. On the 5th December 2015 a small 2cm crack was found and the bridge had to be rebuilt. The bridge is 51 years old. It is owned and operated by Network Rail. It was the 4th longest bridge in the world when built. It cost about £19.5 million to build. It is Britian’s first all steel bridge and it used nearly 40,000 tonnes of steel and 125,000 cubic metres of concrete to build. The designers were Benjamin Baker and John Fowler. There is the new bridge that is being built which we will get to see. We will be visiting it next week, hope we have a great time. By Kaitlyn, Sarah and Ellie
Stirling Castle
Mary queen of Scots lived in Stirling castle nearly all her life. Stirling castle was built on an extinct volcano which was 250 feet deep underground. Stirling Castle is named the Heart of Scotland.
Here are some facts about Stirling Castle. It has an amazing view of its surroundings just like Edinburgh Castle and it’s one of the most famous castles that people like to visit. It was built in the 12th century and between the years 1490 and 1600. There are steep cliffs on three sides of the castle.
Here are some facts about Mary queen of Scots. She was born on the 7th of December 1542 and died on the 8th February 1587 when her she was executed by Elizabeth I. Mary became queen when she was nine months old. She was crowned when her mother and father died. She got married at the age of 17 and she was married to Francis II. Mary’s son, James, became the first King of a united England and Scotland. We are looking forward to visiting the castle on our trip next week.
By Abi, Rebecca and Kaya.
P5/6/7s Maths Challange
P5/6/7 in Islay Primary School have entered the Scottish Mathematical challenge for 2016-2017. The p5 have been finding it challenging to do the maths but are giving it a go. Only some of the p5s have completed the first questions on the paper. P6/7 are a little bit more confident than p5s and most of them did it last year. It is good to try and work out tricky things in maths.
Our Trip To Stirling University
Next week we are going on a trip to Stirling University to see what university is all about. As a student you get to choose your own subjects. You get set essays on a set time. You can also do courses. You also get to meet new people that will be you friends forever. They have a major sports program at Stirling.
Advantages – You get a student discount. You get Christmas, Easter and the Summer off. You get a University flat. When you graduate you get to go to the grad ball and get pretty pictures. You are close to the cinema and yummy restaurants and a very good swimming pool and gym.
My Aunty (Shona Isla) studied Animal Biology and very recently graduated. Her friends still come to visit us with their parents.
A team from Stirling Universaty went to Rio 2016 they got to go on Tv.
Some people from Stirling Unaversaty is part of team GB.
The are four swimmers from team GB which were taught by Stirling University. They also do golf, running, football, rugby and more.
By Eva, Darren and Ruaraidh.
Stirling Trip to Bannockburn
On the 13th September p6/7 are gong to Stirling and we are going to Bannockburn for a visit. We have been researching Bannockburn and this is some questions and their answers. Where is Bannockburn? Bannockburn is just out of Stirling. When was it? 24th June 1314. Who was the battle between? It was between Scotland and England. How did it happen? England crossed the border and that’s how it started the battle. What is the battle of Bannockburn? Bannockburn was a war in First war of Scottish independence and a landmark in Scottish history. We can’t wait to learn more!
Archaeological Dig
On the 25th of August, Port Ellen Primary along with their teacher Mrs Clark, Mr Gairns, Mrs Logan and Struan’s dad Mr Colthart, went to a fascinating archaeological trip to the Giant’s Grave. We were going there because we really wanted to learn about Islay History. As we got onto the bus, I was filling up with excitement. We were in the bus for quite a while until we got to Nerabus. As we got off the bus, I couldn’t wait to start walking to the Giant’s Grave. Also, Professor Steven Mithin walked with us.
On the trip, we walked one hour and ten minutes to the Giant’s Grave. Before we got there, my friend Abi fell into a big stream and got soaking wet. When we were all set we started walking again. On the way, we saw loads of blood red and white mushrooms. They looked really interesting. Finally we got to the Giant’s Grave. I thought it looked amazing and very inspiring. It was as peaceful as the sun crawling up a hill. As we were strolling to the heart of the dig I gazed at the awesome rocks forming the Giant’s grave.
After we had our break, we got up and circled around the Grave. We listened to the archaeologists from Reading University explain about the Giant’s Grave and what they think it used to be six thousand years ago. After they told us about the Grave, we split up and got into partners to work with the archaeologists to help with the Grave. Rebecca and me went to Tom who told us that he worked in the muddiest corner to dig out the peaty mud that could be burying important artifacts. We got a shovel and started to dig the icky sticky mud.
When we were told to move we really enjoyed helping Tom with the mud and digging. When we moved over we went to a lady named Sarah who helped us take pictures of the site with her. We learned that it was a hard job getting the right angles when you take the pictures. We also took stalk photos when we creep up to the others and take pictures of them. Then, with a heavy heart, we went back to the others and sat in the gazebo. We listened to a Dendrochronologist speak about his job as a person who looks at tree rings on the trunk to see how old it is. I thought that was fascinating that you could calculate how old a tree is by looking at the lines.
After we had our lunch, we said goodbye to the people there and we left the Giant’s grave. I really enjoyed myself and I really hope that I could meet them again soon on a different dig. I thought that the dig was phenomenal and I really hope to go again.
By Kaya Middleton P7
Environmental Art By Natalie And Eva
Environmental art by Rebecca and Jasmine
This is our sway
