Author: Aaron James

My book is from the First Aid for Fairy’s collection and Helen is the main character.

The first present I would give to Helen is a new fiddle because all she wants to do with her life is play music; she already has a fiddle but it is old.

The second present I would give her is a new first aid kit because she likes to help her friends get better and heal them so she gets called the healers child.

The last present I would give is a a secret spy house so she could hatch plans and figure out how to save people in trouble.

I really  recommend this book and think you should try out the collection and I’m pretty sure Helen would love these presents.

This is the collection of books go check them out.

On Tuesday 27th of August the whole school went to Dunyvaig to contribute in a archaeology dig .  A kind lady called Sophie was are tour guide showing us all the stations, for some stations examples there was a digging in the trench, photography and looking at findings and lots more.

Personally I think that everyone loved the digging the most because the pride of finding some thing is just amazing but it was probably because we got to get dirty on a school day! But when I was digging I was the only one who found something from p6/7 and I found a broken part off a clay pigeon. When we were at the photography station we got to use a professional camera and are group made silly videos and I videoed it because I don’t like cameras.

But the last thing my group did was my favorite we got to hold and see all the artifacts from last year and this year.  My favorite thing was the half a cannon ball they thought that it was from a attack when clan Donald attacked Dunyvaig.  And another cool thing from last year was a stamp with a name and date on it.  And their most recent find was a broach from the 17th century.  Then sadly the day had to end.

By Caitidh

Every year every school in Scotland has an option to participate in the Scottish math challenge spread across the months there is three sets of questions some being harder than others. There are three rewards: Bronze, Silver and Gold. to earn these rewards you need points. Points are collected by getting correct answers and good working out.

In Port Ellen the previous record in the school was one point of gold (set by my sister) but this year I bet that record with getting a gold thenI got to go away to get the award.

That means this year had to go away to Glasgow university, we got lost a few times in the car park finding the university and any where else we went.

The awards where great they would pull up a schools name on the board then the students from the school came down but of course there was a math challenge it was pretty easy though. The presenter also pulled up on the board funny answers to the questions that included people who drew or wrote funny things. He even had a little segment where you had to guess where Islay was. I went up got my award got a envelope holding all the bronzes from my school got my mug and sat down.

It was a fun experience and I enjoyed it mostly.

 

 

On Thursday 28th March there was an egg competition for all members of the school including the nursery. Lot’s of people decorated their eggs with faces, patterns e.t.c and took them in. After first break the entire school went down to the hall where the eggs would get judged. All of the eggs were beautifully decorated and looked amazing and it showed how much time and effort was put into the designs of the eggs.

• In pre5 Robbie won.
• In p1 Alfie won.
• In p2 Hugh won.
• In p3 Chloe won.
• In p4 Maya won.
• In p5 Phoenix won.
• In p6 Caitidh won.
• In p7 Aidan won.

Every one of the winners was given a lovely big Easter egg that looked delicious. The winners were given 100 points each that were then given to their house. Everyone that participated in making an egg was given a little creme egg and 20 points for their house. Overall Orsay placed 3rd, Texa 2nd and Nave first with over 700 POINTS!

Well done to everyone who competed in the competition and took part!!

On Wednesday 13th March, All the P7’s from Islay went to the High-School for a science day. There were three classes split up between all the P7’s. Mr Harrison’s class: chemistry, Mrs Moran: biology, Mr Kitching: Science.

In chemistry we had flasks with acid water stuff and different liquids and mixed them, we timed them the more high concentrated liquid the faster it changed colour. At the end there was a big glass vase with water and when we mix it it changed colour.

In Science we used Bunson Burners we connected them to a pipe then turned on the gas and fire came out. We got cabbage and water and put them on top of the Bunson Burners and got the dye and added it to other colours to mix.

In Biology we got taught about algae and made little green balls of algae  and put them in the dark and the light where they grew; the ones in the light grew and the ones in the dark didn’t

Over all we all enjoyed it and can’t wait to go to High School.

I have now chosen my endeavour project for this year, I have chosen electrics instead of engineering. Through that I am making a remote control car. The skills I require are how to wire, how to build a remote control car, how to make myself safe when building a remote control car..

By Braeden

On Saturday 23rd November, at the playing fields the primary school teams played from Port Ellen and Islay Youth.  Port Ellen had a great line up of:

Ronaldo: Goals, Cormick: Captain, Jack, Oliver, Aaron, Scott, Oscar, Rhuiridh, Finally  Mathew Campbell: REF

Port Ellen’s girls team was also playing with their line up being:

Holly:Captain/ Goals, Sophie, Lauren, Freya, Rebecca, Rowan, Sarah, Abi, Callin, Ellen

We played both Islay Youth teams. The boys from Port Ellen won every match. The Girls from Port Ellen tied in every game except against Port Ellen Boys when we won 2-0.

Port Ellen’s Junior Boys team then played Islay Youths  Older team our line up was:

Ronaldo: Captain, Aaron, Oliver, Jack, Ryan, Shay, Struan, Toby, Darren,  Mathew REF.

We sadly lost this game 5-1.

The whole tournament was really fun and I we are doing another 5-a side game soon that I am looking forward to.

 

Port Ellen Juniors is a grassroots team that anyone from the age of 4-15 can join. Every Sunday there is a training session for everyone in the team, so that we can get good enough to travel away to the main land and challenge other team’s.

Near the end of November the entire club went away to Bowmore to go and play on the twin-track, in the swimming pool. At the swimming pool everyone was racing each other across the twin track and trying to push each other off or pull someone into the water. It was fun.

We wrote stories about the history of Dunyvaig.  What would it have been like to be there at the time?  Here is one for you to read…

 

The siege of Dunyvaig 

by Matthew

One day at Dunyvaig castle everything was very calm the villagers were doing their normal thing .

The farmer was just harvesting wheat. Inside the castle John MacDonald, the Lord of the Isles the owner of the castle was just having not a good feeling. The guard in the tall tower looked into the distance and there were about twenty boats coming towards the castle!  They were very far away.  He told John.  John was shocked but he was ready for a fight. The following day the ships

looked gargantuan now. There were so many ships. “They’re coming our way!” said the guard “this is not good! said his friend “we need to get ready for a big battle in one hour…”

The battle began. “They’re surrounding us!” said the guard “the ship looks like it’s looking at me this is really not good”

“We’re trapped. It’s a siege. We’ll soon have no food and no water at all so we’re all dead.” I’ll go and tell the Lord of the Isles. He talked to John MacDonald and John said we have to try to get food. He tried but he could not. One of the Campbells tried to kill him but then he sprinted back inside back inside. He told John he could not get any food at all so he sat down and went to talk to his friend. He said “I need to get food we are all going to die! Look at the villagers they’re all panicking they’re all so hungry.”

From the tower the guards shot about ten Campbells. It was their only hope hardly anybody could survive.  A lot had died. They needed food immediately they could only last about two more days. They were all going to die and John was panicking a lot. I mean a lot.

Meanwhile one of the heavily armoured guards tried to get food but he was speared by arrows three hit his head and two hit his arm. His arm was fine because he had armour on his arm but he forgot to put on his helmet so he dropped dead. John dropped his seal and made a run for it. John was petrified so he ran fast as a bullet, he was absolutely panicking. The guards were shooting lots of Campbells.  John shot the big muscly one in the leg he had steel on his leg so he was fine. He whipped out his bow and the arrow hit him in his chest he was not dead yet. The big muscly one was angry he was furious he came into the castle.  And John Macdonald ran down to the sea gate and got in a boat.  He sailed away to freedom.  Sadly, the Campbells won the siege and got to keep the castle of Dunyvaig.

picture by Louise

Here is another example of gaelic poetry from Mara:

Is mise Dùn Naomhaig,             I am called Dunyvaig,

Tha mi mòr,                           I am big

Tha mi casteal,                       I am a castle,

Tha mi fuar,                            I am cold,

Tha i dorcha,                          It is dark,

Tha mi cunnartach,                  I am dangerous,

Tha mi dubh agus donn.             I am black and brown.

 

.

 

We have been using our Castle art to create Gaelic Poetry using the vocabulary we have been learning.  Our poems were written as if we were the castle; how we felt, what we looked like.  We wrote the poems out and then used Chatterpix to record our poetry.  Here is Caitidh’s poem:

Is mise Dùn Naomhaig,             I am called Dunyvaig,

Tha mi làidir, tha mi stoirm,      I am strong, I am stormy,

Tha mi dubh agus donn,            I am black and brown,

Tha mi seachd ceud bliadhna,    I am seven hundred years old,

Tha mi fuar agus fliuch,             I am cold and wet,

Tha mi brònach, tha mi garbh,    I am sad, I am wild,

Tha mi mòr, tha mi fada,           I am big, I am long,

Tha mi dorcha.                         I am dark.

 

As part of our Dunyvaig topic we have been learning about what castles looked like at that time and some of their key features.  We looked at lots of examples of castles and used what we knew to create our own impressions of Dunyvaig Castle using pen and pencil and oil pastels.  You can see some of the results below.

BY HOLLY

BY ELLEN

BY ORLA

We have been learning the gaelic song Birlinn Ghoraidh Chróbhain as part of our Dunyvaig learning.  Godred Croven was one of the earliest settlers on Islay and probably used Dunyvaig as a base.

When the mighty Norwegian King Harold Hardrada was killed in battle in 1066, his Chief of Staff was Goraidh Crobhan (Godred of the white hand), who escaped and made his way to the Island of Islay, where his reputation as a clever and fearless warrior had gone before him. Men flocked to join him, and he was victorious in his battle with Fingal, King of Man and the Isles. He also fought successfully against Malcolm Canmore.  In our animation you can see him travelling a Birlinn to Islay from the Isle of Man.

Ghoraidh Chróbhain is best known on Islay in a legend where he cleverly kills a dragon that was eating people and cattle, so we decided to have him slay a sea monster in our video, xan you spot it?   He died in 1095 as a result of the plague that was sweeping the area and is said to be buried on Islay.

We used stop motion animation to film the story of the song, and also recorded us singing along.  We hope you enjoy the animation!

Here are the words:

Hóbhan na hóbhan hó, hi horó na hùbhan,
Hóbhan na hóbhan hó, Air Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain

Fichead sonn air cùl nan ràmh,
Fichead buille lùghmhor,
Siùbhlaidh ì mar eun a’ snàmh,
Is sìoban thonn ‘ga sgiùrsadh.

Suas i sheòid air bàrr nan tonn !
Sìos gu ìochdar sùigh i !
Suas an ceòl is togaibh fonn,
Tha Mac an Righ ‘ga stiuireadh !

Dh’ fhàg sinn Manainn mòr nan tòrr,
Eireann a’ tighinn dlùth dhuinn,
Air Ile-an-Fheòir tha sinn an tòir
Ged dh’ èireas tonnan dùbh-ghorm.

Translation:

Hóvan, na hóvan ho,
Hee horó, na hóvan,
Hóvan, na hóvan ho
The barge of Gorrie Cróvan

Behind the oars, a score so brave,
A lusty score to row her,
She sails away like bird on wave,
While foaming seas lash o’er her.

Up she goes on ocean wave !
Down the surge she wails O,
Sing away; the chorus, raise,
A royal prince; he sails her !

The towers of Man we leave away,
Old Erin’s hills we hail O,
On Islay’s shore her course we lay
Though billows roar and rave O.”

 

On Wendnesday 29th August we went on a bus to go to Finlaggan. When we got there our class was the first to go and see all of the old buildings and island in the middle of the Loch.  When we were finished outside we went inside to see a lot of old things that the Lords of the Isles would use and other things they used in the medieval times and the family tree of one of the familys that lived there and facts about Finlaggan. When we were done that we got back on the bus but the bus was leaking oil so we had to drive to mundells yard to get a new bus and came back to school.

I enjoyed learning facts about Finlaggan and the best part was when we got there.

We have been learning about Dunyvaig Castle.  Our class did a lot of research and had learned what life was like in Dunyvaig castle.  Also what they wore and what they did in a castle.  We also went to the dig at Dunyvaig and include some of the facts we learned.  After our weeks of research we had to imagine we were someone in a castle writing a letter to a family member or a close friend. When we wrote the letters some of us wrote it from the time 1593 which someone at Dunyvaig found a seal with that date on it.  All of us used all the facts we had learned through are topic about Dunyvaig into our letter and when we went to the dig.  A few people in are class choose a mother or a father but the other people choose some people like Lord Campbell.

Dear Daughter

I have regretted switching clans this place is falling to bits. Because of those attacks from Lord Campbell. At the moment our leader is planning in the great hall are next attack on the Campbell! So many soldiers have been tacking out of the war and have been sent to the wise woman. If I was them I would not go and see her people have went in with two arms and have come out with one. Our leader is so mad with Lord Campbell.

Today the hunters have come back to the castle with a magnificent deer for dinner tonight. They were very quiet on their horse with the long bow ready to shoot. Everyone was setting the Great Hall up for the feast tonight. The minstrels were ready to sing and dance. At the moment my favourite song is Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain.Finaly they have put the dear on the spit over the burning hot fire and ready to eat.

Yesterday we had a terrible storm we needed five men to close the sea gate. All of our Birlinn got destroyed our lead was so annoyed he said “What are we going to do if the Campbell’s attack us we have no escape boats until next week! “When the storm wa s happening all of the women went up to the solar room to sew a tapestry. It was a beautiful tapestry the embroidery thread added some colour into the castle. Currently everyone is really busies since that storm carpenters are making some more Birlinn in case of a battle. And the Black Smiths are making daggers, swords and spears. That is all for now I will keep you up to date with what is happening. 

Your Loving Mother                                                                       

 

 

 

In class we have been researching famous people from the time of Dunyvaig and Finalggan, from Godred Croven to John the II of Islay.  We have learned what life was like at the time and the family tree surrounding the lord of the Isles.  We created posters of the famous figures; below you can see our poster for Godred Croven and Somerled, two of the earliest characters associated with Islay.

 

 

 

 

P67 at Port Ellen have been recreating a letter from the time of Dunyvaig castle. They had to imagine a letter that might have been written and had a seal attached.  This is because there was a seal from 1593 discovered at this years dig at the castle; seals were used with wax to seal letters to make them official.  We have been using a seal in class to add to our letters, which we have aged using cold tea.  We melted wax in a spoon over a candle and then used a tree of life seal to imprint in the wax.  We think they look very authentic!

A funfair has arrived at Port Ellen. It has everything: a rocker, a inflatable slide, a lot of prizes to be won, a jungle run, gambling  machines and dodge ems. There is bumper cars for little ones and zorbs that you are allowed in then you go on water and float.

So far i have been to the fair everyday except from one day. The money you spend starts to pile up after being there day after day. Each ride cost from £2.50 up to £5.00.

The fair will be here for just under two more weeks. Its here till the 15th of September.

The fair is really fun but it is expensive so dont go to often.

 

Did you know that all of the plastic we use in our world goes into our beautiful seas and into sea creatures mouths causing them to die. Do you want that to happen to your favourite sea creature ?

If you vote for us we will save our seas by doing a sponsored beach clean in Port Ellen. With the money raised from the beach clean we will buy a big fishing net for the fisherman so when they go out to sea and spot any plastic they can catch it with the net we bought for them.  We hope this will make our seas cleaner and that is what everybody wants.

Please vote for us – People Oppose Pollution, The POP Party and  we will save our seas!

By Charlet Rose, Aidan, Connor, Millie and Evie.

On Thursday 28th June P7 are going on a trip to celebrate finishing Primary Shcool and will be going on the Seafari boat and they are going to be seeing different types of wildlife around Islay. Before we go on Gus’ boat there is a leavers assembely and after school we go on the Seafari boat. After we get to go home and get ready for the disco but before we got to the disco all of the P7’s get to go to Seasalt to have pizza as our dinner. Once we get our dinner we all walk up together to the disco after everyone else is already there. Once we get to the disco there is music, juce and crisps and sometimes there is games. When we are on they boat and out far enough we might even get a turn of steering the boat!  Here is a picture from last years trip.

On Monday 11th June 2018 Port Ellen primary school had their sports day. Every year for sports day, their is a girl sports champion and a boy sports champion, so to be able to do that primary’s 6 and 7 had to do some sports activities to be able to win the sports champion winners trophy. All the class of 6/7 did activities from high jump and long jump to cross country and football dribble, as well as many more. As tiring as it seems everyone whom participated did exceptionally well and really tried their best which pleased lots of people. On the day of sports day all the school (as well as some of the adults) did the races to add points onto their house for the shield. All of the school was stunning and they were all fantastic at giving everything a go and not giving up. The sports champions where announced, Boys: 1st Jack, 2nd Taylor, 3rd Matthew and Donald. Girls: 1st Lauren, 2nd Sophie, 3rd Rebecca. Thankfully the sun was shining, meaning everyone was having a splendid time.