For my Endeavour I am doing Islay walks I’ve walked up to Ben -Solem and Borachle so far. I’m going to be aiming to walk to Ben Vicar which is the highest hill on Islay. By the end of my project I am going to have learnt the routes up to all the hills I’ve walked on, learn how to read a map and use a compass.
My HTML/JAVA Endeavour
For my Endeavour I am doing HTML/JAVA coding. I am making a webpage and I am going to use the website CodeCademy to help me. I have completed a planner covering what I will achieve in a certain space of time and answered questions like: how is this project ambitious and how this Endeavour will help me with my world of work. I have written a letter to a creator of a coding boot camp however I don’t know what I am going to do on my webpage. I am hoping that I get a reply for my letter and that it can help me with my Endeavour.
Our Visit To Islay Museum
On Wednesday 14th February primary 6/7 went to the Islay museum to learn more facts about WW1 and also about life on Islay in the past. We are all researching a soldier that was in the war and trying to find facts out about him. Some of us got facts from the museum. We also got to look at some objects from the past on Islay and also some objects from the war as well. One of the things we got to look at was a book that had poems in them that we got to read. We also got to see some bullets from the war. Although we got to hold the fake ones, they were still fascinating to look at. At the end we got to have a look around the museum to see what we could find. Once we found an object we wrote facts about it and then we drew it. I drew a medal and I learned that on the rim it says the name of the man and what rank he is. My favorite thing in the museum was the machine gun because it looked old, rusty and fascinating.(I would not like to wear all of that!) At the museum I learned that in the war the men were forced to wear old Kilts, itchy jackets, heavy green helmets, and old boots.
By Rebecca and Ellen
Ryan Van Winkle
A couple of weeks ago a poet called Ryan Van Winkle came into the P 6/7 class and helped us to write a good poem and think of ideas. Ryan Van Winkle went to all the schools on Islay and he will be putting together all of our ideas to make a poem about World War 1. We learnt how to make good similes, metaphors and personification, we wrote on the board all the things that human can do and objects can’t do. We also wrote down about the objects senses, I decided to write about the table and how it is annoyed how it has to lift all the pots and how it hurts when people lean on it. After we then wrote a poem about Islay and what we would miss about it if it was during the war. I said I would miss all of the nature although I wouldn’t miss the smell of fish. Ryan Van Winkle had a fidget spinner and he dabbed and everyone in the class laughed.
WW1 and Alastair Mackinnon
We have been learning loads of fascinating information about world war one, ships torpedoed/sunk, the soldiers that served for our county, and the community heroes all because of one thing… Its been one hundred years since world war one (also known as the Great War) ended and since the Tuscania got torpedoed by a German U-boat. We all remember this tragic, heart-touching moment because not only was their lots of American Soldiers on the Tuscania and killed but their was loads of Islay and Jura Soldiers on the Tuscania as well! In memory of the brave, and mighty Soldiers we lost, in the front school grounds we have made the most remarkable WW 100 sign that some of primary 6/7 made created and planted a variety of plants; Tulips, daffodil, poppy, bulbs and many more. In p6/7 we went down to the pier to venture the war memorial. Everyone chose someone from Islay and Jura to find facts and figures about them. I decided to learn more about A. Mackinnon. Alastair Mackinnon. Some miraculous facts I found out about Alastair was:
Alastair went to Port Ellen Primary School when he was a kid. In 1908 he went to Fettes Collage in Edinburgh. Fettes Collage looked like quite a posh school for someone to go to in 1908. After Collage he went to Edinburgh University. Eventually Alastair set off to go to war.
He Died on 14/10/1916
Aged 21
8th Bn.
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Son of the Rev. James Mackinnon, M.A. and Margaret Mackinnon, of the Manse of Kildalton, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay.
Alastair home was Kildalton House.
People/family living with Alastair in 1901: James Mackinnon (head) aged 35, Margaret Mackinnon (wife) aged 34, Alastair Mackinnon (son) aged 5,
Sheila Mackinnon (daughter) aged 3, Margaret Mackinnon (sister) aged 30, Maggie Mckay (Servant) aged 31
Mary White (servant) aged 13.
Alastair Mackinnon had and inscription on his grave;
“BEATAE MEMORIAE”
The facts about Alastair I found most interesting was who lived in his home at the time of 1901 because I now have a good image in my head of what it was like to be him at the time especially with two servants.
The White Swan
For the choir this year we have been learning a song that relates to WW1. This year our song is called The White Swan. The man who wrote this was in the war. We all gathered at teh American Monument on the Oa because it had been 100 years since the Tuscania sank in 1918. It had also been 100 years since the war ended so on that day we went down to the graves at Kilnaughton and sang that song to everyone who was there. Also there were some people videoing us and now we are on TV. Lots of other people were there and they were saying poems and at the end we placed these small crosses with poppies on the top and we put them around the graves and in the ground. I really enjoyed singing for everyone who was there.
By Rowan Morris
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum Box
Our school has been learning about WW1 and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders museum lent us some primary and secondary resources from WW1. They lent us: helmets, a kilt, a jacket, a water bottle, a tin that you could keep your food in and inside it there is a sauce pan to cook you food in, a belt that you can keep your bullets and small guns in, two medals, a whistle, bandages, gas masks, gas goggles, cleaning products like a comb,pins,a brush, a razor and a thing to hold your buttons in to clean them, they also sent us a fork and a knife, a exercise book, books to show you what to do in the war and posters to show people in action and meals that they would eat.
From all those things I learnt that in the war you had to have all your equipment with you. I also learnt that you have a lot of cleaning products. That they eat stew that looks and sounds disgusting . I learnt that the gas masks have been changed over the years to better ones. That the kilt and jacket was very itchy. Thank you to the museum for sending our school all those things.
By Abi Logan
Trip to the Musem
P1/2/3 had a fantastic trip to the Museum of Islay Life in Port Charlotte looking at how people lived 100 years ago. Jenny Minto showed them the old box bed, an griddle that hung over the fire to make oatcakes and bannocks and all the things that would have been familiar sights in schools 100 years ago. Everyone was fascinated by the old belt that teachers used to use! Thank you Jenny.
Engineering for Teachers
A CPD on Thinking like an Engineer was held for teachers from the other primary schools in Islay and Jura. They built rafts to support pennies and chairs out of newspaper. Team Port Ellen made an awesome chair…perhaps they’s had a bit of an advantage on the engineering front!
Trip to the Museum
P1/2/3 had a wonderful trip to the Museum of Islay Life in Port Charlotte to find out what life was like 100 years ago. They were fascinated by the chamber pot and the fact that people had to go outside to the toilet! P1/2/3 have been learning about school long ago. They have discovered that there used to be many more schools in Islay and that teachers were much stricter! We saw the old teachers high desk and the wooden child’s desk at the museum together with the ink pots and slates that children would have used a century ago. This is part of island-wide history learning associated with the WW1 commemorations. We also found out about a schoolgirl from Port Ellen that gave an her account of what happened in the village following the sinking of the Tuscania. Old log books have given a poignant insight into that time. Thanks to Jenny Minto for a great visit.
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Building circuits
After building human circuits in the gym hall, children in P1/2/3 were given a box of components and had to build a working circuit. This excellent resource was given to the Islay schools cluster by SSERC and it has been well used!
February Diary
Renewables Engineering Islay – February Diary
We’ve had a really busy few weeks ….
Wind Turbine Building
P4/5 and Kate Brown have been busy investigating wind power, moving from pinwheels to desk turbines and finally to designing floating wind turbines…perfect for an island location. This was a fun and busy time in the classroom. Children planned their models, thinking carefully about the design criteria and materials available. They then decided which of their ideas were best and worked in pairs or independently to build their models. They used their Engineering Habits of Mind to guide them and repeatedly tested, altered and improved their turbines as they went along. Testing was done in the rowing boat in the Nursery area as it was full of rainwater. Many models toppled over or sank but the best ideas are going to be improved further and entered into a competition. We’ll keep you posted….
Dearbhla reported My design was very hard to make because you had to get the exact measurements. We needed to work well in a team together. I think we need to understand where our power comes from and grown ups need to know that too.
Morgan said I enjoyed making my turbine because we got to make little models from the junk box and my model was big but it took quite a while to get the base done. The playdough on the base was not effective.
KNEX Renewables
P6/7 and Jo Clark have been improving their engineering skills by building with the new KNEX we purchased. Working in groups and pairs, employing teamwork skills and applying engineering habits of mind, they have built wind turbines, water wheels, solar vehicles and paddle powered cars. P1/2/3 were given a demonstration and explanation of how they worked. Ellen said We made a wind turbine and it was made out of KNEX and when you spun the wheels one of the coils would turn into a smaller wheel and go into a generator. The generator was connected to a wire which then turned a roundabout. I loved doing that and I am going to ask my mum if I can get KNEX at home.
CPD Event for Teachers
As part of our commitment to extend our project out form our own school Maggie Harrison and Maureen MacDonald have been in discussions with Headteachers from the other cluster primary schools to organize some shared engineering challenges. Maggie is part of the SSERC Primary Cluster Programme and is one of three mentors on Islay and Jura who have organized a series of CPD events for teachers to improve confidence in STEM teaching. It has provided the perfect opportunity to include some further CPD linked to our Rolls-Royce project so she shared a SSERC presentation on Engineering Thinking to cluster colleagues. Great fun was had by all. Comments from colleagues included Excellent, engaging and great fun. Easy to apply ideas. Team Port Ellen won the best designed chair for Baby Bear!
Offsetting our Carbon Footprint
P6/7 with Jo Clark have been finding out about ways to offset our carbon footprint and improve the environment. They discovered a search engine called Ecosia which uses revenue from it’s search ads to plant trees. It is a social business who believe that trees have the power to make the world a better place for everyone. Their mission is to plant one billion new trees by 2020…so far they have planted over 20 million! Did you know that every time you search the internet you produce CO2 emissions? We have put Ecosia on all the school computers and ipads so that we can research in a more environmentally friendly way and we hope all readers of this blog will use Ecosia too!
Saving Polar Bears
In P1/2/3 with Maggie Harrison, the children have been very concerned about the plight of polar bears as the ice is melting due to global warming. We have had some very interesting discussions and the children have decided that they would like to adopt a polar bear. They are on a mission to sell ‘Popcorn for Polar Bears.’ It was Katie’s idea; I think saving polar bears important because they will all die if they can’t get food and the babies can’t swim so far if the ice melts.
Large Scale Engineering in Pre-School
Children in nursery have been using some Quadro to design and build some large scale structures during Joint Sessions with P1/2; first a tent for teddy complete with tarpaulin that had to be tested to check that it was waterproof; then a hide to watch birds for the Great Schools Birdwatch. One of our dads, who works for the RSPB, was on hand for a bit of expert advice! Alison Logan is now involving the children in decision making about the sorts of building materials they would like us to buy to develop their skills further.
We have not had any outgoings this month and have £4369 remaining in our budget.
How we get electricity
P1/2/3 have been learning where electricity comes from. We watched video clips of how power is generated in a power station by burning coal and oil to make steam which then turns the huge turbines. We built models to show that we understood how power gets from the power stations to our homes and why we should never play near electricity pylons. It also struck home that this is what causes emissions that cause global warming, linked to our Who will Save us? topic.
Learning where electricity comes from
P1/2/3 are learning about electricity this term. They are building on the work they did about energy in the first term and finding out about all the ways that they use electricity, how to use electricity safely and where electricity comes from. They watched video clips from power stations and saw a model made of spoons that turned using the power of steam. This helped them to understand what was happening on a larger scale. They decided to make models to show how electricity gets from power stations into their homes.
Teddy in the Park STEM
Following a SSERC CPD on Teddy in the Park P1/2 and the ELCC have used this as a focus for Joint Sessions. Children have had a great experience investigating waterproofing, building tents and rucksacks for teddy all linked to a story about a teddy.
Learning about Birds in Joint Session
We have been learning all about birds in Joint Sessions between ELCC children and P1/2. Spoon shaped beaks definitely scoop up more food that long pointy beaks aka chopsticks!
Memorial to the Sinking of the Tuscania
Today is the hundred year anniversary of a tragic event that happened on Islay right at the end of the First World War. The SS Tuscania, carrying 2000 American troops, was torpedoed by a U-boat 7 miles off the coast of Islay. Many of the survivors, but even more of the bodies ended up on our shores. The survivors were rescued and looked after by the locals who took them into their homes, and the dead were buried in graves around Islay. Today a service is being held at the American monument on the Oa and at the war graves in Kilnaughton cemetary to remember the tragic events of 100 years ago. The school Gaelic choir will be singing An Eala Bhàn, The White Swan, a song written by a soldier from Uist who fought at the Somme.
The Sinking of the Tuscania
Below is a news article, written by the children, that tells the story of the Tuscania as though they were on Islay a hundred years ago:
ILEACH’S SAVE LIVES OF TORPEDOED AMERICAN SOLDIERS
On the 5th February a tragedy happened, the SS Tuscania, a US troopship that was carrying more than 2,000 American soldiers, was torpedoed 7 miles off the South East coast of the Isle of Islay. The SS Tuscania was going to Liverpool from New York City and was part of a convoy of 14 vessels. It was a tragic night with conditions like no other, the rough seas and darkness in the sky made it impossible to see. Sadly the SS Tuscania was torpedoed twice by a U- boat at 6:40pm; the first torpedo missed the SS Tuscania but sadly the second one hit it. It left a huge v shaped hole in the troop ship and destroyed many of the lifeboats. The torpedo hit the middle of the boat on the starboard side. The SS Tuscania sank at around 10pm. After having fired the torpedoes the submarine immediately dived to escape as escort vessels came to attack. Some of the men managed to get onto the lifeboats, left and got to safety, but others fell overboard due to rapid waves and rough seas. Luckily Three British destroyers; Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Pigeon came to help others, putting their own lives at risk to come alongside the Tuscania and as safely as they could transfer the men for one ship to another by rope whilst still being fired upon by the U-boat. The destroyers saved 1,500 men
As the lifeboats were approaching the coast of Islay in the dark, the men aboard the lifeboats would have heard the sounds of the crashing waves. An Islay man, Duncan MacDonald, is reported to have been on one of the lifeboats and he persuaded the other men on the lifeboats to wait until morning before they carried on. When it was light they then made their way safely into Port Ellen. Another 50 men sadly died when they were attempting to make their way in the dark and their lifeboats crashed on the rocks. One boat landed near Upper Killeyan and the survivors started to make their way to the Morrison’s family home. Robert set off to see what he could do to help, while his sisters Betsy and Annie had begun baking scones for them. One of the survivors was Arthur Siplon, who said ‘Men were in good spirits despite tragedy occurring all around them.’
Other people helped save them on the island, but many just collected the bodies of the dead. Luckily 132 men made it safely to Islay but sadly a lot of them were badly injured.
One of the survivors Everett Harpham wrote a letter to a friend in America saying that they nearly drowned and when it was light enough to see there was some bodies lying near them dead and they had to listen to the groans of the dying comrades until a Highlander rescued them. Arthur Siplon had been knocked off a lifeboat by a wave and managed to get back on and he was trying to help his friend Wilbur Clark up, when a big wave hit the boat again and they were both thrown against a rock and Wilbur Clark hit his head and sadly died.
Loads of people were found dead around the island in places like Lochindaal, Kilnaughton and Bowmore. There were 53 bodies buried in Port Charlotte, 83 were buried in Port Ellen and 46 bodies at Port- nan- Gallan. It is estimated that 182 lives were lost. There was a funeral at Port-nan-Gallan where 28 bodies were buried by Captain Ramsey and then on the 11th 18 more bodies were buried. Port Charlotte also had a funeral and over 400 people attended even in the rain.
We are all sorry for everyone’s loss and if anyone finds a body please contact the police.
By Sarah, Rebecca and Lauren P7
RSPB Visitor
During a recent joint session with P1/2 and Pre-5 children we were delighted to welcome David Wood in to talk to the children. This coincided with Springwatch and we all watched part of the programme showing the golden eagles on Islay. The children were shown the model of the eagle to demonstrate the wingspan and then some of the Primary 1 children made their own scaled eagle.
David then helped the children to build a hide in preparation for taking part in the Big School Birdwatch.
January Diary
Renewables Engineering Islay – January
The new term started on the 8th January and the new year has started with wild and windy weather here in Islay. A perfect opportunity to see wind power in action….
Renewables Visits
Last week Primary 6/7 with Jo Clark went on a renewables trip around the Island with George Dean from the Islay Energy Trust to find out more about how our island is helping fight global warming. They visited the community wind turbine, the biomass generator at Dunlossit house, the Solar panels at the Gaelic College and a micro hydro electric scheme at Ballygrant quarry. Here they got to see renewable feats of engineering in their local environment. A few days later Kate Brown and Primary 4/5 had the opportunity to do the same trip.
Robyn and Phoenix wrote We went inside the wind turbine. it was very noisy. Mr. Dean showed us how fast the blades were going. It was going very fast for a small wind turbine. Mr. Dean talked about wind turbines and how much it cost (the wind turbine cost £1.2 million) and how it works. We learned the satellite on the wind turbine sends the information about how much electricity is produced to the company in Germany. Millie and Charlet Rose told us that The wind turbine stopped spinning at one point when we were there and the kilowatts went to zero. The wind turbine can adjust it’s blade depending on the direction of the wind and can shut down if it gets too windy.
Both classes got such a lot of learning from their visits and it helped them to understand that a sustainable energy solution can be a mix of different types of renewable energies. George Dean spoke to P4/5 about the history of the Islay Community turbine and all the considerations that were taken into account when siting the turbine. The class enjoyed a debate about whether a wind turbine should be built at the Ard, in Port Ellen however children didn’t want one in their own back yard.
BP Ultimate STEM Challenge Competition
Inspired by their visit to the micro hydroelectric scheme, one group of Primary 7s decided to build and test their own hydro electric generator from KNEX for the BP Ultimate STEM challenge competition. They produced a video which can be viewed on the school website at https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ab/peps/2018/01/14/bp-stem-challenge-handy-hydro-port-ellen-entry/ Lauren said It was a good experience to learn about all the different energy sources. It was really challenging to build our turbine and we had detailed plans. We did lots of testing to see which combination produced the most energy.
Energy Use in School
Continuing our learning about energy in Term1, Kate Brown’s class (P4/5) are continuing to try and persuade us all to use less energy. The Lights-Off Christmas Disco with glow sticks was a roaring success and children thought that it was the best disco ever! Next on the agenda is the use of plastic! Primary 6/7 have finally managed to complete the school’s carbon footprint. We found out that the school produces 61 tonnes of CO2 a year, and 55 tonnes of that is through energy use. The children suggested turning down the heating, turning off lights and computers on charge might help with this. Jo Clark has been in further discussions with George Read about energy meters that are suitable for monitoring energy use on this scale. Much of our heating system is automated but we have decided that to reduce our energy consumption in the long term we need to look at the temperature in the school.
Who will Save Us?
Meanwhile, in P1/2/3 with Maggie Harrison, the children have learned in a simple way about global warming and some of the reasons for the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They were fascinated to learn that lots of gas comes from cows’ bottoms! They thought about some of the possible solutions and Katie suggested that we eat vegetables instead of lots of meat. So P1/2/3 are looking like they are right on trend. The children worked in groups or with a partner to come up with ways to share their learning and explain to other children about global warming and what they could do to help. They came up with puppet shows, film (animation) and story books which they have read and performed to the children in nursery.
Engineering in Pre-School
Children in nursery are still being encouraged to think like Rosie Revere Engineer and solve problems for themselves. Alison Logan says that the latest mission was to clear the outside boat of ice and water. Problem solving tasks are continuing to be incorporated into the joint sessions with P1/2/3.
We are hoping to have some local engineers in to talk to the children and Maureen MacDonald is going to get in touch with local contacts. She is also in the process of formulating a new vision for Port Ellen – making sure that our Eco-Schools work and STEM activities have a high profile in taking the school forward.
Budget
| Date | Purchases | Cost |
| 20th December | Mechanical Workshop Class Pack | £100.00 |
| Energy Storage Circuit (Pk30) | £19.95 | |
| Solar Bag | £19.99 | |
| Solar Module | £26.85 | |
| Simple Machines | £24.95 | |
| Assorted fans, propeller blades | £13.55 | |
| Solar Panels | £16.25 | |
| P & P | £4.95 | |
| 16th January | Hire of 16 seater minibus, 2 trips | £240.00 |
| Total Expenses | £466.49 | |
| Remaining Money | £4411.75 |
KNEX Challenges
On a Tuesday at lunch time at Port Ellen Primary School Charlie, Ciaran and Aidan run a Knex Club for P4-7. We put everyone into groups of 5. Every week there is different things that get made and done like frisbees and tracks we also made a lot of houses out of knex. A lot of people came to Knex club so we had a lot of things that were made. After the Febuary break we are starting Knex club again. We hae also been doing Knex building challenges in class. We built a hydro electric machine, a wind powered machine and a solar car in class from Knex and even maneged to make electricity. It was very exciting!
WW100 Visitors
On Thursday 25th January Jenni and Stuart from the Islay Museum came to Port Ellen Primary school to talk about WW100 on Islay. This is so we can get information about WW1 on Islay and what happened here during the war. They told us about the Tuscania, which was torpedoed by a submarine in 1918 and it sank off the coast of Islay, but some the survivors came ashore in lifeboats or were wrecked in the rocks and people on Islay helped to save them and also to bury the dead. Two brothers came down from their farm house and saved some people and gave them their home, and some poeple baked scones. It is amazing to think this all happened 100 years ago on February 5th. I am looking forward to finding out more about Islay at this time.
Dolphin’s Swimming Championships
On Saturday 27th January Dolphins were having a championship event. They did lots of different types of strokes. They did butterfly, breaststroke, front crawl and backstroke. Some of the swimmers also did tumble turns and dives for starting. All of the children that attended had an amazing time. From the people that attended seven of them were from Port Ellen primary and two more from Port Ellen Primary helped at the pool side. Everyone got a medal at the award ceremony, we also got loads and loads of food after swimming as well. All of the people that went and also the people watching were very proud that there are such good swimmers on this tiny island.
by Ellen and Sophie
10th Anniversary Burn’s Ceilidh
On Friday 26th of January Port Ellen primary school had our 10th anniversary Burns Celidh. We had loads of people from the community coming to join us and we all had great fun. We had all learned different Scots poems for the poetry competition and the judges came in to hear us read them before we all went to lunch. At lunch the Primary 7s said their poem, Address to the Haggis over the haggis and Lauren got to cut the haggis open. After lunch we went to the hall to celebrate with our family and friends. We did lots of Scottish Country dancing; my favourite was the Virginia reel. We also heard people play their musical instruments; Rowan and Rebecca did a duet on the accordian and tin whistle. All the winners of the poems read them out: P1 was Rachael, P2 was Chloe, P3 was Mya, P4 was Kayla, P5 was Dearbhla, P6 was Aidan and P7 was Rowan. We all had a great time and enjoyed tea and shortbread made by Mrs Holyoke afterwards. Thanks to everyone who came along.
Listen to two of our poems below:
PEPS school swimming
Each Thursday for 6 weeks we go to Bowmore and we go in the swimming pool. P5/6/7 go to the pool and we go up and down the lanes and do different this like backstroke or front stroke. When we go in the pool we play a warm up game at the end we do some different things like the mushroom float or the pencil float. After we have done everything we get a 5 minute time play around in the water. After the 6 weeks, we have a swimming gala. We really enjoy getting to do swimming for PE.
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