Children need boundaries to make them feel safe – and to push against. This is as important online as off. The Parent Zone’s Sophie Linington offers some tips on digital boundary-setting.
Here come the Stemettes: a Q&A with founder Anne-Marie Imafidon
The amazing Anne-Marie Imafidon (GCSE maths at 10, master’s degree from Oxford at 20) talks about why she founded Stemettes and why it matters so much to get girls into science, tech, engineering and maths.
Preventing violent extremism – what parents can do
Advice for parents on helping their children avoid becoming involved in violent extremism
Keeping adopted children safe from online risk
Adopted children are more vulnerable to risks online, such as contact from birth families. What can parents do to help keep them safe? Read our advice from CEOP
Problem solving with the High School
My class went the high school for an Endeavour fair but before that we had a a bunch of maths and literacy problem solving stations. You get 10 points per station depending if you do well or not. There were lots of different people from different schools from Islay and Jura. It was very fun and challenging at the same time. We also were helped S4,S5 who also gave us clues to the problems but we lose points if we use them.
by Nick and Beth
Sports Day
On wednesday it was sports day. All of the P1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and the nursary had a whole afternoon of sports and fun also the sports champion was to be revealed and there was the relay races. The sports champion was Ross Thompson and Jodie Jamieson and Texa won the relay and Texa won the shield for the most points.
Sports Championships
Over the last few weeks P6/7 have been doing the sports championships. The sports championships is where you take part in lots of different activities and then get points for what place you come in or if you take part. If you come first you get 100 points, if you come second you get 75 points, if you come third you get 50 points and if you take part you get 25 points. The activities consist of cross country, 100m, 50m, high jump, long jump, hurdles, obstacle, football dribbling throwing and basketball hoops. At the the end of sports day the person with the most points will be given a trophy and medal if second or third you get a medal. This year for the girls championships in 3rd place was Bronagh from p6 2nd was Beth from p7 and sports champion was Jodie from p7. For the boys championships in 3rd place was Logan from P7, 2nd was Ronan from p6 and the boys sports champion was Ross from p6. Everyone enjoyed taking part in the sports championships.
By Emily and Jodie 🙂
Getting young people involved in volunteering
The internet can help and encourage young people to help others. Here’s how.
Treatment for your child’s eating disorder
It’s unusual for young people with eating disorders to get better on their own. Here’s our roundup of treatments available on the NHS and from other support services.
Understanding binge eating disorder
Binge eating disorder: a parent’s guide
Top tips on digital finance
Teaching children about financial responsibility has never been easy, but as new technologies make cash less common it’s even more daunting. Here are our top tips for talking to your children about spending in the digital age.
Managing money in a digital world
It’s never been simple to teach your children about financial responsibility, but as cash becomes less common and new technologies become more prevalent, it can be a daunting prospect. This article gives you the inside track on how to help your children manage money in a digital world.
Monitoring apps: what parents should know
There’s been quite a lot of interest recently in monitoring apps, which allow you to track your child, alerting you to where they are and what they’re doing. Sounds like a brilliant idea, no? But experts warn you should think twice before putting your child under surveillance. We look at the pros and cons.
ooVoo: everything you need to know
ooVoo is a group video chat service that has been the source of some controversy, with fears that children are giving away information to people they don’t know. Like any popular online tool, used wisely it’s great; used unwisely it can be a platform for problems. Here’s everything you need to know about what ooVoo is, how to use it safely, and how to report anything worrying.
What are parental controls and how can they help children stay safe online?
Filters and parental controls may not be the complete answer to keeping children safe online, but they are undoubtedly the first line of defence. It’s now possible to set filters on your broadband, your devices and your applications. Here, from Internet Matters, is what you need to know.
Staying safe on Minecraft
Minecraft is phenomenally popular, especially with primary school children. Sometimes described as Lego for the digital age, it is absorbing, creative and educational – but, as with any online activity, it’s as well to be aware of the basics of staying safe. Here’s our guide to helping your child make the most of Minecraft.
What is Minecraft?
In just a few years, Minecraft has become one of the world’s most popular games, mainly by word of mouth and despite the lack of a big marketing budget or a major organisation behind it. Already a hot topic of conversation in the playground, Minecraft is now moving into the classroom, as teachers increasingly find ways to use the game for educational purposes. Here’s the lowdown for parents.
Finance Week!!!!!!!!!!
Last week was finance week. Each class learned about different aspects of finance and managing your money. P7 learned about tax, payday loans and interest rates and they also made finance board games. With Mrs MacDonald P7 made a Gaelic cafe and they had to learn and teach the customers how to ask and pay for food in Gaelic.
P5/6 were working out the proper cost of their soaps with all the ingredients prices added up together and worked out they should be selling the soaps for £1.06. Mrs Connor came in to help them with making spread sheet for their soap business. They also made board games about different aspects of money including accounting and managing money and accounts. A pupil named Murray made an animation on how to make soap.
P3/4 made up their own shops in groups using pretend money and foods. The shops were called The Square Shop, Good Food, The Yummies and Eat Up. They were also learning about saving and managing money.
P1/2 made different dips and sold them to the school for 30p. They were also learning about saving money.
By Abbie and Izzy 🙂
Gaelic College
Last Tuesday P7 from Port Ellen Primary School took a trip to the Gaelic College along with Mrs MacDonald. During school Mrs MacDonald has taught us about food, how to order it and prices, all in Gaelic. A pound in gaelic is” not” and a penny is a sgilean. When we went over, in order to get a cake and juice you had to order in Gaelic. We had to say, “Ha me a geerie aun…” and then whatever we wanted. Everyone managed to successfully order what they wanted in gaelic. After we had our order we had to answer Gaelic questions. Then we played Twister in gaelic colours and a Gaelic board game about how to take care of yourself. Overall we had a great day and we all learnt something new and even Mrs MacDonald.
By Emily and Jodie 🙂
A parent’s guide to gender stereotypes
Gender stereotypes could affect girls and boys’ job prospects in the future. Here’s how parents can help
Why media images can ruin girls’ lives
Are images of women in the media that focus entirely on physical appearance affecting girls’ future?
LGBTQ+ glossary for parents
Your child has come out. That’s great: it means that they feel confident about themselves and they are trusting you to be supportive.
But what do you actually say?
Online risk: myths and facts
The internet is a wonderful resource for young people and offers unprecedented opportunities for connecting and learning. But it can also be scary. Many parents are afraid their children will be exposed to upsetting content or meet dangerous people online. What are the facts about online risk?
Boys and self-harm: facts and tips
The number of boys self-harming is rising. Here’s what parents need to know
The Junior Saltire Awards
Over the last week, we have been trying to create our own wave power devices and see if we can light an LED light by generating electricity from waves. 3 groups in P7 are entering the Junior Saltire awards with their devices. All the groups have different designs for the wave power to make the LED light work.
The first group is called the Electricity Generators and the device is called The Electric Cradle. The second group is called The ABAE and the device is called The Wave-Inator 360. The last group is called TLWN and their device is called The Donut.
We are going to enter all 3 devices and hopefully our school will have some success with 1 of our devices.
By Abbie and Eleanor 🙂
High School Science
2 weeks ago we went to the High School for Science week because we were doing food science with all the schools around Islay and Jura. We went to Mr Kitching’s room first and we were testing foods for energy. We had Peanuts, Pringles and Bread and we burnt the food with a Bunsen Burner and then put it under a test tube that had water in it. We also had a thermometer in it and we had to check how much the temperature went up. The peanuts had the most energy then it was Pringuls and then it was bread.
The next class was Mrs Moran and we made a really gooey thing out of cornflour and water and mixed it all together then we put it on a big music speaker and it looked like it was dancing and then we tided up and went to the next class room.
The next class room was Mrs McNaughton’s class and we were testing foods for starch, fat and protein. We had busen burners and we put different foods into test tubes and added Benedict’s to test for sugar. You had to put the test tube in and out the bunsen burner and also used iodine to check for starch. If it has sugar when you put the Benedict’s and add the heat it should go orange and if you do the same with the iodine it will go blackish.
I had a great time.
BY William Monaghan
Day of Dance
Day of Dance this year started with us missing the first half of it because the bus man forgot us. Apart from that it was great. The first dance was the for the Reel for Jeanie and the last was the Dashing White Sergeant, the class favourite dance. Half way through the day they repeated the Flying Scotsman. In all the day was great and thanks to Mrs Shaw and Mrs Campbell for teaching us so well:
A Reel For Jeanie.
First you dance in a circle for four back for four.
Next the top couple walk down the middle then cast of with the rest of the people following.
Make an arch and the rest of you walk though.
Then you clap 8 times and spin with right hand.
By Anwen Baker
Learning About Rivers
At school we learned about rivers for our water topic and near the end we decided to work in our groups to make something to show our learning so we went into our groups and made things to show our learning.
One group made an animation and a small poster while another made a dance to show stages of the river and the the third did experiments to see if water can clear away sand, soil and gravel and the last made a clay mountain model to show how a river would flood and knock over small houses.
By Torin
Swimming Gala
Last Monday Port Ellen Primary School had their swimming gala. A swimming gala is a competition where each and every class takes part in swimming races. Each person races other people in their class. The boys swimming champion was Ross Thomson and the girls swimming champion was Katie Middleton. Orsay came in 3rd, Nave came in 2nd, Texa 1st. Everyone had a great time and had lots of fun.
By Beth
Child Line
Yesterday afternoon Keills P67 came to our school. They came because we were getting a visit from Child Line. Child Line is for children to support you if you are worried, sad or anxious about anything. They are open 24-7 and are confidential. They won’t tell anyone about the conversation You don’t need to tell your name and you can tell them a fake name. We got put in to groups to talk about pictures and vote what we thought of the pictures. The child line mascot is a speech mark called Buddy. We all enjoyed it and listened well.
Child line number: 0800 1111
By Annie Farrell