Author: R MacCaskill

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Coding

Primary 3 and 4 Code Outdside

Primary 3,4 and 5 worked took the spheros outside and coded them to play tag, bowling and to follow obstacle courses. The children had to ensure that their algorithms were precise and this involved some trial and error and some good team work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Primary 6 and 7  Game Design

Primary 6/7 worked hard to code their own games using Kodu, they applied their tinkering skills when working out how to create different levels within a game and how to code different aspects of their games.

 

 

 

 

 

Primary 1 and 2 Digital Leaders 

Primary 1 and 2 support the boys and girls in nursery to use some new apps on the ipad. Once a week, P1 and 2 visited the ELC and showed their buddies how to use various apps, they introduced fun apps such as Picollage, Duck Duck Moose Maths and Chatterpix.  This was a great way for the boys and girls to develop their digital literacy skills in addition to supporting the transition from ELC to P1 and 2.

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Being Good Digital Citizens

At Bowmore Primary School, it is important to use that our children have the knowledge and skills required to be good digital citizens.

The internet and digital devices offer a huge range of positive experiences for children and digital devices surround children from a very young age. It is important that we build positive and open relationships with our children and that we take an active interest in what they are doing online. Below are some online safety guides which will offer you some support.

Internet-Matters-Guide-Online-safety-for-parents-of-children-0-5-years-old

Internet-Matters-Guide-Online-safety-for-parents-of-children-6-10-years-old

The following website have a huge range of resources to support parents and carers:

• Parentzone: Digital parenting magazine (free copies for schools and some organisations working with children, young people and families):

• Childnet screentime guidance 

• Parent reviews of apps, games, films, books etc

• Internet Matters website – Helping parents keep their children safe online

• CEOP resources for parents:

• Mencap guide for parents about learning disability, autism and internet safety:

• UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) leaflets for foster carers and adoptive parents:

 

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Creative Coders

We are so excited to have been successful at securing The Digital Xtra Grant. The money received will be purchasing robotics equipment for Islay and Jura schools. Through teaching robotics, our children will learn to create algorithms, apply their maths skills, problem solve, use their intiative, collaborate, tinker with new and fun equipment and much more!

Our Creative Coder boxes are ready to be used by all schools across the cluster.

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Primary Science Teaching Trust Conference

Our whole school focused on a plastics topic to increase our understanding of plastic pollution, we worked alongside Port Ellen Primary School on this topic. We conducted numerous beach cleans, collected data and shared this data with others. We also discussed how we, as a school could reduce plastic waste and we encouraged everyone to use a reusable water bottle and to recycle their plastic.

Following the success of our topic, we were invited to Edinburgh to present our findings at the Primary Science Teaching Trust Conference. Three children represented our school, they spoke confidently and informatively about plastic pollution and they presented the data that they had collected from across our island.

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Emotion Works

Primary 1 and 2 have been learning to use emotion words to describe what different characters are feeling throughout a story. We read Room on the Broom and used the emotion works symbols to help us to explain what each character is feeling.

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Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum for Excellence aims to equip children with the skills, confidence and knowledge needed to succeed in life.

 

‘The world is changing fast, we are preparing our learners for jobs that don’t exist , use technology that hasn’t been invented and to solve problems that we can’t imagine yet’ (Education Scotland, 2010)

 

There are eight curricular areas:

  • Expressive arts
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Languages (including English, Gaidhlig, Gaelic learners and modern languages)
  • Mathematics
  • Religious and moral education
  • Sciences
  • Social studies
  • Technologies

These are taught through the four contexts of learning:

  • Curriculum areas and subjects
  • Interdisciplinary learning (Topics where we link in three  or more curricular areas)
  • Ethos and life of the school (ChangeMakers, Clubs, School Captains etc)
  • Opportunities for personal achievement. (Sharing achievements at assembly and through Seesaw, personal targets etc)

Teachers plan for lessons to be challenging and to be relevant to the children. It is also important that children have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding in different contexts.

Levels with the Curriculum 

 

 

 

 

 

This diagram shows a broad guide to how the curriculum is split into different levels. It is very important to us that all children work at their own pace and that their learning is pitched to the level that they are personally working within.

Active Learning 

We aim for all of our learning to be exciting and relevant to our children. Active learning can be going on school trips and outdoor learning however active learning is also teaching our children to be inquisitive, to problem solve, to research and to work together rather than being fed information.

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Emotion Works

 

It is important to us that all children feel nurtured in Bowmore Primary School, we use Emotion Works to support children in recognising, coping and talking about their emotions. Emotion works is introduced in primary 1 and is used throughout the school to help us create a safe and caring environment for all of our children.

Emotion Works explored different aspects of our emotions through a system of cogs, the children are introduced to each cog and these are used together to support the children in developing a deeper understanding of different emotions and expressing these.

The Cogs:

Triggers: What triggers certain emotions?

Body Sensations: Where do we feel these emotions in our body?

Emotion Words: What words can we use to label our emotions?

Body Bevhvaiours: What behaviours do these emotions trigger in us?

Regulation Strategies: what can we do to help us feel better when emotions don’t feel good?

Intensity: How can we report the size and strength of our emotions?

Influencing Factors: The things that influence how we react to emotional triggers

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Pre-Writing

There are many skills that children are required to have developed before they begin to write. Fine and gross motor skills are very important and have a huge impact on a child’s ability to write. In Bowmore Primary School we follow The Highland Literacy guidelines for introducing handwriting. We feel that it is very important that children are physically ready to write so we spend term 1 of primary 1 developing the necessary fine and gross motor skills.

 

There are lots of fun and active games and activities that your child can participate in at home to develop their fine and gross motor skills. Please see the links below to access these ideas.

 

scissor-skills

pre-writing-skills

messy-play

posture-seating

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An Introduction to Seesaw

 

 

https://youtu.be/pzlrtDR84KY

HOME LEARNING WITH SEESAW DURING SCHOOL CLOSURES

As a result of the school closures due to coronavirus we are going to start using Seesaw for learning at home. We will be setting Seesaw learning activities each week and children will be able to logon online at home to access their work. Seesaw helps us work together to provide students with meaningful learning experiences.

We’ll use Seesaw to share learning activities and resources, capture your child’s learning, and communicate about student progress and needs.  We will be able to give feedback and next steps, enabling you and your child to see their progress.

Below are steps for setting up Seesaw at home and additional resources to help you support your child.

CHILDREN IN P67

If your child is in P67 they can already sign on to their class Seesaw independently at home using their glow google login: gw’****’@ab.glow.scot

CHILDREN BELOW P67

Set up your child in the Seesaw Class App:

  1. For devices like tablets or phones, download the Seesaw Class App-YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THE CURRENT VERSION FOR THE CODES TO WORK

For laptop or desktop computers, go to app.seesaw.me

  1. Click I’m a Student
  2. We have provided home learning codes in a PDF in children’s bags and on Seesaw: Enter the text code or scan the QR code
  3. These codes should be considered as passwords and are unique to your child and should not be shared with others.  They enable access to your child’s learning journal.

If you have more than one child in the family sharing a device they will each need to log in separately to their Seesaw account and log out again when finished.

You and your child will now be ready for learning online.

 

Additional resources:

If you have any questions, please feel free to message your teacher on Seesaw.

Thank you for your support with your child’s learning.

MORE ABOUT SEESAW

Seesaw is used to record and share learning experiences in the classroom with parents and carers at home. Each child has their own profile where they can share their achievements by uploading photos, recordings, and drawings.

Parents and carers are invited to join Seesaw and will be notified when there are new posts to view. This is a great way of engaging with your child’s learnings as you can comment on your children’s work.

All data is safe and secure, you can follow the link below to read more about data protection.

https://help.seesaw.me/hc/en-us/articles/203258429-What-measures-do-you-have-in-place-to-keep-student-information-safe-

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Kapla Challenges

Primary 1 and 2 have been learning to work as a team through completing various Kapla challenges. We have to listen to all ideas to make sure that everyone feels valued, we must talk about all ideas before making a decision and make sure that everyone agrees.

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Maths Home Bags

We launched our Maths Home Link bags during Maths Week Scotland to encourage and support learning maths through play at home. Our maths bags contain fun and engaging toys with a matching activity card which suggests a range of indoor and outdoor activities with a maths focus.  Parents and children have had lots of fun exploring maths through play.

‘Mara and her little sister have both loved them! It’s been great for me because I don’t have a maths brain so wouldn’t come up with many ideas myself!’

‘They do help when it comes to maths through play ideas as I would not necessarily think to explore more than counting and basic shapes.’

‘They have definitely helped me to teach her maths in a fun and interesting way.’

 
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