Primary School of the Year 2022
We built a bridge using cardboard, lego, string, lolly sticks and tape. We tested it to see if it was sturdy by putting a toy car on and it didn’t fall down. We had to make the legs shorter because it was not stable. We added lolly sticks like a triangle for extra support. The lego was used as pillars to hold up the glass roof which is to shelter the vehicles or pedestrians from the weather.
Today we made bridges and we are only allowed to use scissors, sellotape, string, lego, cardboard, lolly sticks and plastic. Myself and Dylan made a suspension bridge we used lots of lego – Dylan was my lego helper he went to get me lego. We used string for the suspension part of the bridge, lego for the legs and suspension part and cardboard for the actual bit of the bridge. We used sellotape to tape the legs on and the suspension part of the bridge and to tape the string on to the lego and now it is done. We are very proud of our bridge!
In school this week the whole of the school is doing a topic called Tomorrows Engineers. In p1/2/3 they have been getting their parents in to help them make their models which were chairs. In p4/5 they have been making fabulous bridges some are small and some big. In p6/7 we have been making grabbers to pick up something.
Here is one of p6/7’s grabbers:
Here is one of p4/5’s bridges:
Here is one of p1/2/3’s chairs:
By Abi Logan
We created a sturdy bridge with 2 coffee can as supports as well as 1 tower of lego in the middle, on top there is a strand of card , a welcome sign on top of the card and some triangles made out of sticks. it is a very sturdy bridge because of all of the supports. we can also fit some boats underneath. so overall it is a very good bridge design.
This week, 6-10th November is Tomorrow’s Engineers week. At Port Ellen we will be doing lots of engineering challenges and finding out more about what an engineer is and how they solve problems. We will be engineers on a mission, solving problems and sorting the planet. See the PPT below to find out more about engineering careers.
We were delighted to welcome Neil Chattle, our mentor for the Rolls-Royce Science Prize, to Port Ellen on Wednesday. Children enjoyed listening to a presentation about Rolls-Royce and Neil’s career as an engineer with the company. They got a chance to handle some pieces of jet engines and we were all amazed how lightweight some of the components were and how the cooling systems within the engines would be able to stop ice cubes from melting in a hot oven! We were then introduced to the Bloodhound, a supersonic car powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, and got to work in teams to build a model Bloodhound powered by balloons. Neil said that he’d never seen balloon models go so far!
Just a day after Neil Chattle’s visit to Port Ellen we all enjoyed watching the first public test runs of the Bloodhound. What a coincidence when we were just building Bloodhound models the day before!
A big part of our Rolls-Royce Science Prize project this year is developing engineering skills and encouraging children to think like engineers. Our first challenge was to build a bridge with a span of 30cm that could support a plastic cup which would then have weights added. To make it even more tricky there was a strict time limit! In P1/2/3 the winning bridge held 20 marbles!!
Renewables Engineering Islay
Our project for the Rolls-Royce Science Prize aims to build children’s understanding and experience of engineering within the context of renewable energy. Living on a small island means that children have a limited experience of different jobs and we want to promote engineering. We feel that developing Engineering Habits of Mind as a way of tackling problems will not only apply to engineering tasks but many other learning experiences that children encounter. The renewables context for the project comes from our amazing natural environment. Islay is surrounded by sea and subject to regular strong winds. It is home to the Limpet Wave Station – a prototype wave turbine and there are plans to use the strong tidal currents to power an array of underwater turbines in the future. We also have our first community wind turbine.
What is an Engineer?
In this first phase of the project we have tried to establish some baselines so that we can measure the impact of our project at the end of the year. In all classes, children were asked ‘What is an engineer?’ The results of this were fascinating; nearly all of the children in P1/2/3 thought that engineers ‘fixed cars’ while children in P6/7 almost all children saw engineers as wearing hard hats, steel capped boots and having tool belts. Many children also saw engineers as being ‘only boys.’ P6/7 have started to research different fields in engineering such as chemical and biomedical engineering.
Assessing our Engineering Skills.
Since developing Engineering Habits of Mind underpins our project we have used a Do you think like and Engineer? self-assessment tool with children to see how they felt about their skills at the outset. The resource we used was developed by the Royal Academy of Engineering for schools participating in the ‘Thinking like an Engineer’ project during 2014-2016. Staff also decided that we should try and assess the children’s engineering skills in a practical task at the beginning and end of the project – we decided on a bridge to span a 30cm gap and support a plastic cup into which weights would be dropped. This was also the first session where we used the video camera, which made us all nervous! It was interesting to compare notes at the end of the day – almost all children had just gone for a wad of straws taped together with Sellotape. However, one boy in P1/2/3 had visited a bridge and remembered details of how the structure was supported. He then built his bridge single-handedly and put on some railings to stop the cup falling off – this was really unexpected.
In all the classes, staff are talking to the children about engineering and how engineers work and all opportunities are being taken to encourage thinking like engineers. Jo Clark has encouraged P6/7 to create design boards for the Young Imagineers competition run by Statoil. They had to come up with an engineering idea that could solve a problem for the future, and lots of great ideas were generated. 3 were chosen by the class to enter for the competition; Sarah’s Scaredy Sheep device stops sheep getting stuck on their backs by barking like a dog, Rebecca has designed a device that uses static electricity from clothes to repell rain from your glasses and Lauren has invented a device that knows when the inside of your car gets too hot and sends an alarm to your key.
In the Early Learning and Childcare Centre Alison Logan and Katie Bonar have been making the most of their new equipment. The children have been working together to build bridges and ramps, problem solving to make sure that the structures were sufficiently wide and long for everyone to fit across. They have also been problem solving to bail out the boat in the outdoor area. Using lengths of bamboo, they have engineered a solution where bailed water can flow down and be collected at the other end.
Thinking about Energy
The first phase of our project has been Thinking about Energy, how important it is to our lives and how we use it. In P6/7 with Jo Clark, children have been working on a farming topic in which they calculated their own carbon footprint and looked at the carbon footprint involved in food production and transport. They cooked their own low carbon footprint foods for a buffet for pensioners in the local community for Harvest. They have started work on the School’s Carbon footprint and will complete this next term.
Kate Brown’s P4/5 class have been looking at the energy they use in school and at home. The devised questionnaires to find out how many different electrical items children had at home and made tables and graphs to show their results. The class then looked at the energy use of different appliances and were amazed how much energy was used by their showers. Next term they are going to engage with the community to encourage energy saving and will hopefully be getting hold of some energy meters to look more closely at what we use in school.
P1/2/3 with Maggie Harrison have been finding out what makes their toys work. As well as looking at forces they have been finding out about toys that produce movement, sound, light and heat and thinking about how energy is needed to make them go. Linked to their transport topic, they have also thought about what powers different vehicles and designed their own cars and boats. They have started to Think like Engineers, working in teams on engineering challenges.
We have enlisted the help of George Read from the Islay Energy Trust. Our team also includes Maureen MacDonald, Head Teacher. Maureen began her career at Port Ellen as a class teacher, was promoted to Head Teacher in 2008 and in 2016 became shared HT of Port Ellen and Bowmore Primary Schools. Having worked with Education Scotland as an Associate Assessor, Maureen has been a member of various teams engaging in evaluative and professional dialogue. This experience has been invaluable and has influenced practice within the school. Community involvement and parental engagement feature highly in the work that Maureen does. She has conducted the school Gaelic Choir for many years, achieving national success and helping to raise the profile of Port Ellen Primary School. During the October holiday the choir have been competing, and winning, at the National Mod!
Moving forward into the next phase of our project. we are looking forward to our first visit from our mentor, Neil Chattle, just after the October break.
Primary 6&7 have been busy inventing. They have been creating design boards for the Young Imagineers competition run by Statoil. They had to come up with a great engineering idea that could solve a problem for the future, and lots of great ideas were generated; extra robotic arms and hands so you can get more done, high viz vests for cows, smart material kneepads that bounce you back when you fall in the playground, the Scooper for stopping ice cream dripping on your hands and lots more. 3 were chosen by the class to enter for the competition; Sarah’s Scaredy Sheep device stops sheep getting stuck on their backs by barking like a dog, Rebecca has designed a device that uses static electricity from clothes to repell rain from your glasses and Lauren has invented a device that knows when the inside of your car gets too hot and sends an alarm to your key. Good luck in the competition and great engineering!
P1/2/3 have been learning all about energy. They have explored lots of different toys, old and new, to see what they do and thought about what makes them go. They have discovered that toys can move, make sounds and light and that all of this is produced by putting energy into the toys – from electricity, by pushing, pulling and twisting. The children were amazed to see the liquid move when it was heated with your hand. Learning about energy is part of our Rolls-Royce Science Prize project for this year.
We have been finding out about different types of engineering. An auto engineer is an engineer that works with vehicles. This job involves working on computers and fixing cars. The average salary is up to £28,000. To be an auto engineer you need to be good at maths and be good at dealing with technology, but most important you have to have good group work to get the job done. You would also have to think about seeing when working with Vehicles. It would also help if you had a degree. I thought that it would be good to be an auto engineer because you always have a task to get done with a team.
We have been learning about Engineering. We have been looking at the Engineering habits of mind here are some and what they mean. Curiosity: asking lots of questions about something. Open- mindedness: showing and telling new ideas. Resilience: don’t give up. Resourcefulness: always organized. Collaboration: able to work in a group. Reflection: look back at your work and rethink your ideas. Visualising: think in your head about what you think your idea is going to turn out like. We have been learning these because the whole schools topic is Engineering. I think that I have learned how to work in a group, how to ask questions, to keep working hard and never give up and how to look back at my work and improve it to make it better. I also learned that Engineers are not just men some engineers are women as well.
By Abi Logan
This short film, narrated by scientist and TV presenter Heather Reid at Whitelees Windfarm, explores the opportunities for using the power of the wind, waves and tides in Scotland to produce energy. LOGON TO GLOW TO VIEW
What different skills do engineers need to do their jobs?
LOGON TO GLOW TO VIEW
Watch this STEM video to find out about the different types of engineering that are happening around the world.
LOGON TO GLOW TO VIEW
Scotland has a great history of excelling in the field of engineering. We have been looking at different types of engineering in school and we want to focus especially on renewable engineering, which will help solve the problem of global warming. LOGON TO GLOW TO VIEW
As part of our Transport topic, P1/2/3 wanted to find out all about cars, how they worked and what made cars go faster. So they wrote to Dugald McKerral and went on a trip to the garage. They saw a car up on the hydraulic ramp and could see the wheel axels and the chassis that they had learned about in class. Lots of interesting questions were asked and we are going back to class to find out more about pistons. This learning ties in really well with the Rolls-Royce Science Prize.
As part of our Transport topic, P1/2/3 have been learning about boats, what makes them float and then designing and building their own. We have also learned that engineers design boats and more about the design process – tying in well with our Rolls-Royce Science Prize project for the year.
P6/7 are learning about engineering. We have drawn and annotated a picture of a engineer and discussed what and engineer is. We have found out different types of engineers there are (electrical, biotechnology, chemical engineers, etc.) We have watched a video of a engineer and videos on what an engineer is. We have done research about a type of engineer and we wrote the facts down on a piece of paper.
We have found out that you need to be good at linear algebra to be a computer engineer. We also found out that that coding engineers work with a lot of other types of coding engineers, such as programmers. We can’t wait to do some of our own engineering. Watch the video on engineering below…
As part of our transport topic, P1/2/3 wanted to find out about wheels. They found lots of tyres out in the garden and checked out wheels on cars in the car park and bikes in school. They found out that wheels are attached to axels and have written to Mr MacKerrell at the garage to see if they can find out more about how cars work.
P1/2/3 have been wondering about engineering and what engineers do? Evie (P1) thinks that engineers ‘fix cars’ and are ‘always men but sometimes ladies’ while Iona in P2 thinks engineers can be ‘boys and girls’ and that engineers make boats.
We asked these questions as part of a baseline assessment for the Rolls-Royce Science Prize. We will be asking children to revisit these ideas at the end of the project and see how their views have changed.
We are pleased and proud to announce Port Ellen is one of 6 finalists in the Rolls-Royce Science Prize 2017-18! We are going to be carrying out a year long project on engineering and renewables. Read more about the prize taken from the Rolls-Royce Website below:
The Rolls-Royce Science Prize is an annual awards programme that helps teachers implement science teaching ideas in their schools and colleges. The Prize recognises and rewards excellence in Science teaching across the full spectrum of teaching, from special education needs to high ability pupils. It also promotes innovative and sustainable strategies for teaching science which addresses a specific need in the schools or colleges and at the same time contributes to teachers’ continuing professional development.
On Wednesday 8th June, two members of staff and three pupils from Port Ellen Primary flew to Glasgow to attend the Scottish Education Awards. The school had got through to the finals of the Science, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Award along with another primary school and a high school. Assessors visited the school back in March to see STEM activities in class, speak to children about their experience of STEM learning and talk to staff about the development of STEM in Port Ellen.
Charlet Rose Munro, Rowan Morris and Natalie Logan were very excited to attend such a large event………and we were all even more surprised to be announced winners! The award was sponsored by BAE systems and the presenter told the girls that he was very happy to see girls being so keen on science and engineering and that he hoped he might see some of them working for the company in the future. It is predicted that the UK will have a huge shortage of scientists and engineers in the near future.
This award reflects a high level of commitment to STEM learning throughout the school, from Pre-5 to P7. We all feel that encouraging children to be curious about the world around them leads to high levels of engagement in learning and that STEM subjects promote creativity, problem solving, co-operation, resilience and reflection. The school was recognized as having ‘an adaptable and resourceful teaching team who makes best use of the local environment and technology……..and that by engaging in partnerships, the school supports and extends the development of skills for life, learning and work.’ We are all very chuffed to have achieved this recognition.
Over the past year all the primary schools on Islay and Jura have been involved in an Island wide history project in conjunction with Islay Heritage and archaeologists from the University of Reading. 
The children have been learning about their history and heritage, as well as the many STEM skills required to be an archaeologist. The results of their learning are now on display in the Gaelic College, Ionad Chaluim Chille Ile, in the Islay and Jura School’s Heritage Exhibition.
The project started with a party from every primary school on Islay visiting the Giant’s Grave site, 90 children in all. This involved a lengthy walk from Nerabus up through the forestry to the site, where the archaeologists were excavating and surveying. The children were then able to experience the different fieldwork techniques, from geophysics to troweling to photography. They learned about life in the early Neolithic period, and discussed with the experts what the grave was for, how it might have looked and how the people at the time lived. They then returned to the classroom to continue the learning, carrying out many different tasks; timelines, brochures, reports, sways, story telling videos, den building, pot making, art and imaginative writing. Some of these can be seen on the Islay Heritage site, as well as at the exhibition.
Then in late March the archaeology team returned for phase 2 of the project, in which schools adopted their own local monument and carried out surveys. Children applied some of their previous learning on Geo-physics and photography, whilst also learning how to make scale drawings and documentaries. They then got to see the results of the survey transferred into 3D representations of the site. Bowmore surveyed Cill a’ Bhulig, the remains of an old chapel, Port Charlotte surveyed Carnduncan, a Bronze Age burial cairn, Port Ellen surveyed Kilbride Chapel and Small Isles and Keills surveyed a crannog at Loch nan Deala.
It has been a great learning experience for all involved and made us grasp just how much fascinating history we pass on Islay everyday without even realizing it. The process of revealing Islay’s past through the use of modern archaeological techniques has been a truly great experience, and the children have a far better understanding of their Island as a result. We would like to thank all those involved for providing us with the experience, including the Mactaggart fund for enabling the project to take place. We hope people will visit the exhibition over the next two weeks for a unique insight into Islay’s past.
On Thursday 23rd March primary 5/6/7 walked to the ruins of Kilbride Chapel in order to survey it as part of the Islay Heritage Schools Project. For this project all the schools on Islay visited the Giant’s Grave earlier in the year and then worked with Reading University to choose a monument close to their school which they would then adopt and survey to find out more about it. Port Ellen’s site was Kilbride chapel and they surveyed the site using geophysics, archaeology photography, scale drawing and by making a documentary.
Rob showed us how to do the geophysics; there was machine and that went into the ground with electricity to see if they could find anything else about the land around the Chapel. The geophysics 
worked by sending an electrical current through the ground and if there was a higher reading then there was a rock under the ground this is because it takes more energy to get through the rock. If there was a lower reading that means that there would of been water because it didn’t use lots of energy to get through it. To use the geophysics you would stick both spikes into the ground and wait for a beep then move onto the next spot a certain distance away. We were all glad that people from the University Of Reading to come over and help us as they were very interesting and taught us lots. The data we gathered from the geophysics will actually be used in the final report on the site which is very exciting.
We were also doing archaeology photography with Alex. Before you take the picture you have to remember two things. The first thing to remember is you need to put the measuring stick onto where you are taking a picture of so you have a scale to know how big the things in the photo are, and you have to remember to use the right size measuring stick. The other thing to remember is to put a chalkboard with the sites name, where it is, what it is and what direction it is taken from. You also need to put a north arrow pointing to north. You have to fill in a register after taking a picture. You have to write the site name and the description from the chalkboard, what direction it was from and lots more. This is so that people in the future know what it was about. The site name was KIL17 for Kilbride chapel in 2017. We enjoyed taking accurate photos.
We were also did photography and filming and you had to put up a big 5m pole to sit 
the camera on and you have to make sure that the camera is screwed on properly so it won’t fall off. The archaeologists helped us with all of this. We also made a documentary and it was about what we were doing at Kilbride Chapel and we had to use a radio microphone to record. Showing us how to do things properly is one of the reasons Islay Heritage is so good.
The last activity we did was making an accurate scale drawing of the chapel with Darko. We did this by measuring all the sides and scaling it down properly on graph paper with a scale of 1:50. The picture 
looked really cool and showed us what the chapel looks like-it had really thick walls and was a lot smaller than we thought it would be. We checked our drawing was correct using a GPS positioning pole. We learned lots of new skills and at the end we got to see the results of the geophysics in school and it showed that there might have been an enclosure around the chapel and we were the people who found out that evidence which was very exciting! We then drew pictures of what we thought it might have been like in the past before it fell down.
We want to say thank you to Islay Heritage because they have helped us with all our archaeological digs and surveys by showing us what you need to know to be an archaeologist . We have also found out lots more about our local heritage and know that Islay is an amazing place with lots of history waiting to be discovered. Without them none of this learning would have been possible and they have helped us know more about where we live and what it used to be like. We appreciate all the help we get from Islay Heritage. THANK YOU ISLAY HERITAGE!
By Kaitlyn and Rowan
On the 22nd March 2017 two pupils from Port Ellen Primary School went to the Lighthouse in Glasgow to receive their reward for the My place photography competition run by the Scottish Civic Trust. Those two boys were Matthew Campbell, overall winner in the primary category, and Ruaraidh Macdonald, runnner up. Ruaraidh and Matthew got two canvases, one for the school and one for their family and Matthew also got a camera for himself and for the school. The two of them went up to the front one by one to accept their awards. After the ceremony Matthew had to stay for more photos with the rest of the winners from the My Place Awards and My Place Photography Competition. They both enjoyed the day and were really proud to have done so well in a national competition. To read more go to http://www.scottishcivictrust.org.uk/news/my-place-award-winners-2017/
by Ruaraidh and Matthew
P4/5 have been investigating 
how craters are made. They thought about the different variables that might change the size of the craters – things like the size of the meteorite, the weight, the shape and even the angle that it hits the surface. Here they are testing out their predictions.
P4/5 had a special visitor on Friday as part of National Science Week – Laura. Thomas, a Space Ambassador from the European Space Program. This was a follow up to the work they had done with the rocket seeds last year as part of the Tim Peake Project. She talked to the children about the materials needed for spacecraft to withstand the conditions in space. The children tested different materials – checking them for temperature, electrical conductivity, bounce, weight and strength. She also answered lots of questions from the children on space and gravity and got to see them test their lunar modules. It was a great learning experience and fun was had by all.
This week, everyone in the school participated in this years Science week. P1/2/3 also took part in this years Science Week. They learned about different forces and they did some experiments to demonstrate how forces work.
First they visited the new Play-park in Port Ellen and talked about 
forces there. They also looked at our playground toys to find out what forces they used. Then they invited parents in to help make their own play-park 3D models and will test them to see which forces the objects use. The forces that they have been learning were push, pull, twist, air resistance, friction and gravity. Next week, on Wednesday, they will be having a visitor who knows about STEM, and will teach the P1/2/3’s more about forces and things to do with STEM. Robyn, one of the class, said that she would like to do more about science and forces, and the class enjoyed it a lot, even though it is not the end of science week yet. They are eager to learn more and they seem excited to learn more about forces and science. Overall, I think that the P1/2/3 class enjoyed themselves very much, and the experiments with the toys went well, they would love to learn more about STEM and how it works.
By Kaya Middleton
