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:

February 18, 2020March 1, 2021

Swimming Sensations At Bowmore Primary School

At the weekend some people in Bowmore Primary School took part in Islay and Jura Dolphins swimming gala. Lots of children won medals, trophies and other awards. We are very proud of our pupils as they have been training very hard. Well Done!

Written by Ava, Primary 4

February 18, 2020

Robot Alert in P3,4&5!

Primary 3,4,5 have enjoyed the new Robotics topic and we have been having lots of fun. We have got to experience lots of new things, everyone in Primary 3,4,5 loves robotics, its great. Every class in the school have been using the new technology, so far we have used Spheros and Code-a-pillars. we have got to use Kodu and scratch, we have learnt all about algorithms and determination wile using Kodu and scratch. We made our own algorithms on scratch and also got to make a game.

February 5, 2020

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.

February 5, 2020

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.

February 5, 2020

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.

February 5, 2020March 9, 2022

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.

January 29, 2020March 1, 2021

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

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020

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.