Whole school activities
P5/6/7 have recently started Endeavour. They all get to pick there own topic for 6 months and before they get started they always get a computer to do there plan for the 6 months, so for instance you can plan what you would do January to February. You have to make your Endeavour ambitious. It has to be something that you can write and research about. Your Endeavour has to be something achievable. Then if you can do the six months complete your teacher will call you a star.
During the October break, Port Ellen Gaelic Choir competed at the Mod. We sang our unison, puiert a bheil and two part harmony. We came first in our unison and two part. We also got a third in our puiert a bheil.
Port Ellen also had lots of people doing solos, poems and duets. Lots of people got placed 2nd and 3rd. Eva got got FIRST in her poem. She was over the moon!
This year we also had a boys choir. They got a second in there unison, but it was there first Mod and we all think they did really well!
After a long day we all went back to the guest house for dinner. But before that we had to go and get recorded. As it turned out the recording studio was running late, so we had to go back for dinner. After a tasty dinner we went back and finally got recorded.
We are all proud of our selves and hope to do even better next year!
Photo of Port Ellen Choir after winning there Two Part Harmony.
Our school took part in the shoe box appeal, the shoe box appeal is a thing that you do to donate things to people who don’t have any money or any thing to keep warm, the shoe boxes contain little surprises for the children and adults to open. Port Ellen Primary managed to collect around thirty shoe boxes! The school has sent them away and the families will get them at Christmas and we are not the only people collecting shoe boxes other places around the world will collect shoe boxes too and we are doing it for the Blythswood care.
We have been learning about compass points because it helps us with our orienteering because you need to know your compass points to get to the markers. All the compass points are north represented by an N then there is north-east represented by an NE after that there is east represented by an E then there is south east represented by a SE then there is then there south represented by an S and that is half the circle. Then on the other half of the circle, there is south west represented by SW then there is west represented W then there is north-west is represented by NW then is north again. There is a degree for each compass point which helps you to know if you’re facing the right way. When you change the degrees to north to east or to east to south you add 45 degrees on because each turn you do you add 45 degrees. North is either 360 or 0 and north-east is 45 degrees. East is 90 because 45 add 45 is 90 degrees. South east is 125 degrees. South is 180 degrees. South west is 225. West is 270 degrees and north west is 315. Then back to north which is 0 degrees.
Every year all the P6/7 from Islay and Jura schools go on a trip. It is to make friend from other schools but you also have to have FUN! This year it was an outboard bound trip called Stramash. We all met at Port Ellen Pier at 9:00 clock sharp on the 15TH of September. We got the ferry to Kennacraig then a bus up to Oban. The ferry was fine but I didn’t like the bus. There was nobody to sit beside on the bus so I got the pleasure of sitting next to Mrs MacDonald’s bag!
When we arrived we went into a jam-packed lounge to get introduced to the Stramash crew. After that we got a bit of tour around the hostel, but we got to stay in the lodge.
We got on a bus to go to a beach to do team games. Our first game was to get across imaginary lava on hovercrafts, which was made of carpet. The fist 4 or 5 people got across but forget about the rest of us. So we had to work together to get across. Our strategy was to jump onto the carpets with two of us on one bit of carpet. Once we got onto the carpets there should be one without someone on it and then the person at the end would quickly grab the empty carpet then pass it to the people at the front.
After we did a game where we stood on an upside-down tarpaulin without stepping of the tarpaulin. That was my favourite game out of them all. Minutes later we finally finished, kind off, then moved on to the next activity. On this one we had to get a can of what we pretended to be toxic waste with only a rope. There was a rope on the ground and we pretended that was toxic waste so we weren’t allowed to step inside the circle. After we had chilli for dinner. It was good but all I wanted was a good nights sleep!
The next day we had Gorge Walking first thing so after breakfast we all put on wetsuits on top of our swimsuit. It was group 5 and 6 going up the Gorge. When we got to the Gorge we had to walk through the woods to get to the Gorge. When we got to the start of the Gorge Rob, the instructor, told us a rhyme about the colour of the rocks that went:
White is alright
Grey is OK
Green is mean
Black stay back
So then we got into the Gorge. It was FREEZING! A wee while later we came to a deep pool. Rob said we had to do a belly flop in here to warm up. When it was my turn I ran but I slipped but it was really deep so it wasn’t that bad. We then had a choice to go through a cave like bit. I decided I would do it. After I went through we carried on clambering over rocks. We came to a big rock but it was to high to climb so we all went through a wee cave. After we climbed through the caves we carried on climbing up wee waterfalls and swimming through really deep pools. After a while we all came to a stop. It was time to get out. Rob climbed up the rock first then took out a rope for us to pull ourselves up with.
Once we were back at the Youth Hostel we had to haul ourselves out of the wetsuits, it was a struggle but I managed it in the end.
Canoeing was next so we went down to a Loch and got a buoyancy aid. We got to pick who was in the Canoe with you. Me, Morven and Anna went in a Canoe together. I got really sore arms after canoeing but it was fun though. When we got back it was time for dinner we had curry.
The next day we had archery. It took me ten arrows before I was able to hit the board. I learnt that archery isn’t my strongest activity. I managed to burst 4 balloons with a BANG! It was really fun.
After lunch we went to do Coasteering. We clambered over rocks and jumped in to the sea. We came to a wee bay and swam around a bit. We then got a choice to swim round to the last bit or go over the rocks. I swam round. When we got there I jumped in and I also faced my fear of heights.
Back at the Hostel we had a baked potato for dinner. We then played the cereal box game where we had to grab the box with our teeth without touching the floor. We all managed to get it.
We all then packed our bags and went to bed.
In the morning we went climbing and then went home! I was glad to get home but it was a really great trip. Thanks to all the teachers who helped on the trip, we couldn’t do it without you!
By Mirren Brown
On Wenesday 23rd September the children from Port Ellen had a Crunch for Lunch as part of Scottish School Meals day. We all ,student and staff, had to bring in an apple and have it for lunch break. We also had a Scottish themed lunch. It was mince and potatoes or stewed sausages and potato soup. For pudding it was dumpling or scones. It was really tasty. We all enjoyed our apples. We had our crunch for lunch day because it was healthy and Scottish. Everyone enjoyed our Crunch For Lunch Day.
By Bronagh and Mirren.
Fabulous Egyptian Art by P3/4.
P3/4 are learning about Ancient Egypt. They have been fascinated by the process of mummification. First the brain is removed from the body through the nose, then lots of internal organs are removed and put into canopic jars. Finally the body is packed with salts and then wrapped in linen. Here we are mummifying an orange ….. the mummified oranges are being kept in Mr Gairn’s boiler house!
This is how you do reciprocal reading.
You read some of your book and you choose an activity. Then you write about it after that you talk about it to the rest of your group. The activities are Predicting, Clarifying, Questioning, Summarizing, Connecting, Visualizing, Inferring, Evaluating. This is how you get better at understanding what you read. We are reading Cool by Michael Morpurgo.
In school we have been learning about maps, compass points and symbols. We are making our own map in groups the groups are called the adventurous, the muddy maps, the orienteering otters and the history hippies. Talking about orienteering we are using maps in orienteering to help use maps properly and also because it is our topic, it is good fun. We have been doing degrees of the compass and bearings. I have not quite got it yet but I will get it. I also need to know how to use a map because it is a bit complicated with all of the wee lines on the maps although it is complicated it is still fun.
By Rowan P567
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