NEWS

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Book Review

indexIn September P567 started reciprocal reading groups.  My group was Joe,Eva and Kaya we were reading Vivian French’s book The Robe Of Skulls.  It was about a lady called Lady  Lamorna and she was a woman who was buying a dress with skulls on it.  She did not have enough money to buy it so she grabbed her assistant Gubble, he is a troll.  She told him to get two donkeys for a journey for getting gold from castles. Eventually they introduce a girl who gets locked in a basement because of her step father Mange.  Gracie’s mother had died so she lived her whole life also with her step sister except the whole story changes.  They go on a quest and everyone has fun.  I enjoyed reading this horror style fairytale.

 

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The Amazing Black Tide.

Black Tide is a book by the author Caroline Clough and had lots of adventure. The main character is Toby and in the book he had to try to rescue his little sister Sylvie and his dad. They had been captured by invaders and held captive. All the people who are invaders had a NC tattoo on their wrist and Toby used that to tell who to stay away from because the invaders were after Toby as well.

btAt the beginning Toby had been captured but managed to escape but he didn’t manage to save his family so all through the book he was making up plans to save Sylvie and his dad. He met a girl called Natasha but all her friends call her Tash. In the middle of the book there are dogs and Toby called the biggest, fluffiest, blackest dog Cerberus after Greek mythology.

The author is Caroline Clough and she came to our class for the book fair. It was amazing when she came in and she told us about her family and her childhood and how she became an author. She said there will be another book called Silver Seas and I am really excited about it coming out!

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Police And Fireman Visit

On  Wednesday  28th October a policeman and a fireman came to our school to talk to us about firework safety. They told us what to do when you were finished with a sparkler which was to dunk it into a bucket of water and to wear gloves to protect your hands. They also told us what to do if an adult lit a firework and it didn’t set off, which was to stay away from it and tell an adult.

The fireman told us that they have to attend to bonfires set off by kids and since they have to attend to this, they can’t attend house fires because they will be busy putting out the bonfire. They also told us that to keep your pets inside like cats, dogs etc. They can either get frightened or hurt. So remember this information and stay safe during firework night!

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Negative Numbers

P567 have been learning about negative numbers and how they are in temperature. The lowest temperature that negative numbers go down to is -274 degrees and positive numbers go up to infinity. We also learned that negative numbers can some times be in lifts like if there is a basement or a cellar in a hotel or a museum.It also appears in world temperature like the weather might say Paris is -1 degrees and Romania is 16 degrees and all the other countries might be different than Paris or Romania. This is what we have learned.

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Our Halloween Pumpkin

P1010403On Friday 30th October Port Ellen Primary had a Halloween pumpkin competition. It is when everyone in the school can carve a pumpkin at home then bring and it in to school and enter them into a competition to find out who has won. There is a winner in every class and when you find out who has won the competition they stand up in front of the school and get a picture taken and a prize. The winner in pre 5 was Chloe she made an amazing owl with lots of eyelashes, in primary 1 the winner was Roman and his little sister Skyla but Skyla is in Pre 5 they made a pumpkin together. The winner in p2 was Phoenix when she found out she had won the costume competition and the pumpkin competition she was very happy.  The winner in p3 had made a lovely peacock wit lots of feathers. The winner in primary 4 was Ellen and she made a sugar skull with lots of detail in it, the winner in p5 was Taylor he made a pumpkin park with a dinosaur inside a cage. The P6 winner was Natalie and she made a trick or treat pumpkin and the treat was a pumpkin cake, the trick was a pumpkin with icing bugs on it and with the word TRICK in middle. The p7 winner was Joe and he made a pumpkin house. All the winning pumpkins go to Ian Lorries in the window so that everyone in the village can see them.

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Swimming

At the weekend there was a swimming competition in Helensburgh. Three people from Port Ellen primary school took part. These three people were Ross, Struan and Matthew. Islay did very well at the competition with some people getting first, second and third. At the end of the first day all Islay, Kintyre and Oban teamed together to make some relay squads to face Helensburgh relay teams. Then on the next day there was a 3 hour long training session with all people from Argyll and Clyde. It is called path finders or B squad. There is also a A squad for older and more experienced swimmers. Four people from Islay got picked and Ross was the only person from Port Ellen Primary School.

By Ross and Struan

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ENDEAVOUR

P5/6/7 have recently started Endeavour.  They all get to pick there own topic for 6 months and before they get started they always  get a computer to do there plan for the 6 months, so for instance you can plan what you would do January to February. You have to make your Endeavour ambitious.  It has to be something that you can write and research about.  Your Endeavour has to be something  achievable.  Then if you can do the six months complete your teacher will call you a star.

 

 

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Mod in Oban!

During the October break, Port Ellen Gaelic Choir competed at the Mod. We sang our unison, puiert a bheil and two part harmony. We came first in our unison and two part. We also got a third in our puiert a bheil.

Port Ellen also had lots of people doing solos, poems and duets. Lots of people got placed 2nd and 3rd. Eva got got FIRST in her poem. She was over the moon!

This year we also had a boys choir. They got a second in there unison, but it was there first Mod and we all think they did really well!

After a long day we all went back to the guest house for dinner. But before that we had to go and get recorded. As it turned out the recording studio was running late, so we had to go back for dinner. After a tasty dinner we went back and finally got recorded.

We are all proud of our selves and hope to do even better next year!

 

 

Photo of Port Ellen Choir after winning there Two Part Harmony.

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Our Shoe Box Appeal

Our school took part in the shoe box appeal, the shoe box appeal is a thing that you do to donate things to people who don’t have any money or any thing to keep warm, the shoe boxes contain little surprises for the children and adults to open. Port Ellen Primary managed to collect around thirty shoe boxes!  The school has sent them away and the families will get them at Christmas and we are not the only people collecting shoe boxes other places around the world will collect shoe boxes too and we are doing it for the Blythswood care.Image result for presents shoe boxes presents

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To Sum Up What We Have Achieved

Port Ellen Primary School P5/6/7 has been learning how to Orienteer. To sum up what they have achieved is quite remarkable.What they have been doing in oreeinteering this year such as making some course challenges, made a map of the school grounds, Google Maps course around Port Ellen, and they made a course round Islay on a map and put QR codes round the school .

The School got a grant of 2,000 so the school thought it would be a good idea to buy water proofs and other outdoor achievement for orienteering and other outside activates with the school. They have recently done a Google Maps course round Port Ellen with videos and pod casts.

I know they have been very successful in there orienteering topic and we hope they can continue this topic.

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Pontoons-Checkpoint Green E

If you are at this checkpoint you will be able to see the ferry, the Port Ellen Lighthouse and the lookout hut.  The pontoons are for people to keep their boats at when visiting Port Ellen.  There is an information board showing where the free spaces are for mooring your boat.  One of the things we like to do at the pontoons is crabbing.  Here is a video explaining how to do it.

 

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Compass Points

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We have been learning about compass points because it helps us with our orienteering because you need to know your compass points to get to the markers. Here are all the compass points are north represented by an N then there is north-east represented by an NE after that there is east represented by an E then there is south east represented by a SE then there is then there south represented by an S and that is half the circle. Then on the other half of the circle, there is south west represented by SW then there is west represented W then there is north-west is represented by NW then is north again. There is a degree for each compass point which helps you to know if you’re facing the right way. When you change the degrees  to north to east or to east to south you add 45 degrees on because each turn you do you add 45 degrees. North is either 360 or 0 and north-east is 45 degrees. East is 90 because 45 add 45 is 90 degrees. South east is 125 degrees. South is 180 degrees. South west is 225. West is 270 degrees and north west is 315. Then back to north which is 0 degrees.

P1010224

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Compass Points

P1010222We have been learning about compass points because it helps us with our orienteering because you need to know your compass points to get to the markers. All the compass points are north represented by an N then there is north-east represented by an NE after that there is east represented by an E then there is south east represented by a SE then there is then there south represented by an S and that is half the circle. Then on the other half of the circle, there is south west represented by SW then there is west represented W then there is north-west is represented by NW then is north again. There is a degree for each compass point which helps you to know if you’re facing the right way. When you change the degrees  to north to east or to east to south you add 45 degrees on because each turn you do you add 45 degrees. North is either 360 or 0 and north-east is 45 degrees. East is 90 because 45 add 45 is 90 degrees. South east is 125 degrees. South is 180 degrees. South west is 225. West is 270 degrees and north west is 315. Then back to north which is 0 degrees.

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Bearings

The bearing of a point is the angle measured from the north line. Bearings help you find your destination so if you are new town bearings can help you around the place.

bearThis diagram shows compass points and the bearings plus the angles of a compass.  You can see the bearing of A from B is 065° and from B from A is 245°.

 

triangle

This is a triangle that is labelled a to b b to c and c to a.

A to B = South West

B to C = South East

C to A = North West

hex

This is a hexagon labelled a b c d e f: A to B =south west

B to C= South C to D = South East  D to E = North East E to F= North F to A =North West

By Ruaraidh and Rowan at Port Ellen Primary School

 

 

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Maps, Grid References And Coordinates

There are 2 lines that are on all maps and they are called the vertical and the horizontal lines. They are always in a straight line and they either go up and down or across the way. Grid references are between the lines which make it look like a maths square that has numbers. The difference between grid references and coordinates is that coordinates are where the lines meet and grid references are in between the lines. We are learning about grid references in school and we already know six figure grid references and four figure references. Every ordnance survey map in the world has a six figure grid references and a four figure grid references for every place. We also learnt about coordinates. We played battleships to help understand grid references. We know you say the horizontal line first and the vertical line after. The horizontal line is the X axis at the bottom and the vertical line is the Y axis.

We found a map of the school and we thought it would be a good map to use for orienteering because the one we have is old and things aren’t in the same place anymore. Then we realised we didn’t have some things on the new map so we went outside and measured the things that weren’t there by how wide they are, how long they are and how far away from some things like the school and the fences area. After that we measured them to scale and put them on our map. Now we use the map to make up orienteering courses. This is the map we use and we use it to do orienteering in school.

omap

 

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The Mile Walk And Run

walk p34P5/6/7 wanted to do a mile walk or a mile run to improve our fitness. But first we had to calculate and measure how long a mile is. We had to use Google maps to see how much it takes for a mile from up the path and back. We were going to go up the path but we did not want to go 2 miles so we used Google maps to see how it is a IMG_0587mile from somewhere on the path and back. Our class found out that it stopped at a wee bay right beside a stone wall. We thought if we go around the school a lot of times we could measure the school and see how many time it would take to do a mile. For the run we had to time each other to see if we improve each week. For the run we had to run around the edges 4 times. We know that running around the school 4 times because we measured it on the app called Map My Walk.

 

 

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Upward and Outward Bound

P1010220Every year all the P6/7 from Islay and Jura schools go on a trip. It is to make friend from other schools but you also have to have FUN! This year it was an outboard bound trip called Stramash.  We all met at Port Ellen Pier at 9:00 clock sharp on the 15TH of September. We got the ferry to Kennacraig then a bus up to Oban. The ferry was fine but I didn’t like the bus. There was nobody to sit beside on the bus so I got the pleasure of sitting next to Mrs MacDonald’s bag!

When we arrived we went into a jam-packed lounge to get introduced to the Stramash crew. After that we got a bit of tour around the hostel, but we got to stay in the lodge.

We got on a bus to go to a beach to do team games. Our first game was to get across imaginary lava on hovercrafts, which was made of carpet. The fist 4 or 5 people got across but forget about the rest of us. So we had to work together to get across. Our strategy was to jump onto the carpets with two of us on one bit of carpet. Once we got onto the carpets there should be one without someone on it and then the person at the end would quickly grab the empty carpet then pass it to the people at the front.

After we did a game where we stood on an upside-down tarpaulin without stepping of the tarpaulin. That was my favourite game out of them all. Minutes later we finally finished, kind off, then moved on to the next activity. On this one we had to get a can of what we pretended to be toxic waste with only a rope. There was a rope on the ground and we pretended that was toxic waste so we weren’t allowed to step inside the circle. After we had chilli for dinner. It was good but all I wanted was a good nights sleep!

The next day we had Gorge Walking first thing so after breakfast we all put on wetsuits on top of our swimsuit. It was group 5 and 6 going up the Gorge. When we got to the Gorge we had to walk through the woods to get to the Gorge. When we got to the start of the Gorge Rob, the instructor, told us a rhyme about the colour of the rocks that went:

White is alright

Grey is OK

Green is mean

Black stay back

So then we got into the Gorge. It was FREEZING!  A wee while later we came to a deep pool. Rob said we had to do a belly flop in here to warm up. When it was my turn I ran but I slipped but it was really deep so it wasn’t that bad. We then had a choice to go through a cave like bit. I decided I would do it. After I went through we carried on clambering over rocks. We came to a big rock but it was to high to climb so we all went through a wee cave. After we climbed through the caves we carried on climbing up wee waterfalls and swimming through really deep pools. After a while we all came to a stop. It was time to get out. Rob climbed up the rock first then took out a rope for us to pull ourselves up with.

Once we were back at the Youth Hostel we had to haul ourselves out of the wetsuits, it was a struggle but I managed it in the end.

Canoeing was next so we went down to a Loch and got a buoyancy aid. We got to pick who was in the Canoe with you. Me, Morven and Anna went in a Canoe together. I got really sore arms after canoeing but it was fun though. When we got back it was time for dinner we had curry.

The next day we had archery. It took me ten arrows before I was able to hit the board. I learnt that archery isn’t my strongest activity. I managed to burst 4 balloons with a BANG! It was really fun.

After lunch we went to do Coasteering. We clambered over rocks and jumped in to the sea. We came to a wee bay and swam around a bit. We then got a choice to swim round to the last bit or go over the rocks. I swam round. When we got there I jumped in and I also faced my fear of heights.

Back at the Hostel we had a baked potato for dinner. We then played the cereal box game where we had to grab the box with our teeth without touching the floor. We all managed to get it.

We all then packed our bags and went to bed.

In the morning we went climbing and then went home! I was glad to get home but it was a really great trip. Thanks to all the teachers who helped on the trip, we couldn’t do it without you!

 

By Mirren Brown

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A Crunch For Lunch

IMG_0571On Wenesday 23rd September the children from Port Ellen had a Crunch for Lunch as part of Scottish School Meals day. We all ,student and staff, had to bring in an apple and have it for lunch break. We also had a Scottish themed lunch. It was mince and potatoes or stewed sausages and potato soup. For pudding it was dumpling or scones. It was really tasty. We all enjoyed our apples. We had our crunch for lunch day because it was healthy and Scottish. Everyone enjoyed our Crunch For Lunch Day.

By Bronagh and Mirren.

 

 

 

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STRUCTURE AND SKILLS

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Part of the Successful Learners skills ladder

During the pilot process we worked with other schools on Islay, Jura and Kilmodan in developing Endeavour, although each school took a slightly different approach in the way it was structured that suited their individual situations.  As a group we identified skills development as the key structure for the project; children would be choosing from a wide range of topics with vastly different areas of learning and specific skills but all of them could focus on assessing specific transferable skills-skills, for life, learning and work.  On Islay and Jura we had developed our own skills ladder based around the four capacities and related transferable skills that would be applicable in the world of work.  It was the skills for successful learners and confident individuals that the children would focus on developing through their Endeavour; most regularly plan do review, inviting feedback and sharing learning from Successful Learners.

Space needed to be created in the curriculum for Endeavour, and we decided an afternoon a week was necessary to allow children enough time to develop their projects in depth.  Because we were covering different skills in such depth it was felt that this was justifiable, and the personalisation of children’s learning was also a key aim we could fulfill.

To ensure children were focused and managing their time well (Confident Individuals), a plan do review (Successful Learners) structure was used to manage the projects.  Over time children filled out long term, medium and short term planners.  Once a term they would work in pairs to discuss and assess their Endeavour progress based on questions on an assessment peer review sheet; they would also be monitored by myself at the start through planning meetings and during the term to ensure progress was being made.   The ethos of Endeavour is very much independent learning, and your role is less that of teacher and more that of coach or mentor.  It was really important that children developed project management skills and used them without being over managed by myself, even if that meant at times they hit problems.  I would offer advice on how to manage any problems that arose, but I had to resist the urge to do it for them if I was to help them become more resilient and independent.  And I was regularly surprised by how much they could achieve on their own, and how well they dealt with challenges they faced.

Short term planning happened at the start of each lesson; children would review the previous session and then plan their activities for the afternoon.  Some found this planning quite hard to manage initially and needed support, but by the end of the year they could clearly see the benefits.   They would carry out their tasks and at the end write down what they had achieved and next steps.  Sharing learning was one of the key aims of Endeavour and at the end of each session two children would present their learning to the rest of the class, with a question and answer session afterwards.  These sessions are invaluable for children to think through their projects, and the questioning from other children was always surprisingly perceptive and testing.  Oh, and I would often use these sessions as a talking and listening assessment for my records!

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If your child is bullied for being LGBT

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying can be very painful but is extremely common. More than half of LGBT young people say they have been bullied at school. Here Stonewall offer some advice on how to help your child if they’re on the receiving end and some sensible and sympathetic approaches if you find out that your child is among the bullies.

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Welcome to Endeavour- Developing Skills for Life, Learning and Work

ENDEAVOUR: Verb   try hard to do or achieve something.  Noun  an attempt to achieve a goal.

tess4_110113The online dictionary definition of the word Endeavour neatly sums up the ethos behind this learning project, begun in 2012.  As a teacher I want to challenge and motivate my students in their learning and help them deal with setbacks and problems whilst allowing them ownership of their learning.  Students now have so many opportunities available to them that allow them to take their learning in new directions.  School projects in my day involved trawling through the limited information available in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ladybird books or the teacher’s general knowledge, and then copying images neatly into a jotter and summarising the key facts.  Today I can remember very little of the different breeds of dogs or the Kings and Queens of Britain…

The students who have worked on the Endeavour projects in the three years since it began will hopefully have a much clearer recollection of their learning in the future, and may even be able to relate the skills they began to develop in primary school to those required in their future careers.  The personalisation and choice of developing your own project, the usefulness of transferable skills development and the satisfaction of solving problems independently will surely have a more significant impact on their future selves.

One of the first Endeavour participants in primary 7.  Keen to be a fisherman like his father this boy wanted to use Endeavour to develop his own lobster fishing business.  He wrote to the business teacher at the High School to find out how to do accounts correctly and received a wealth of information, from which he set up spreadsheets to record the lobsters he sold to his father.  100_7215Then he researched the costs of buying fishing boats online and looked into finance, calculating how much he would need to save up for a deposit.  He also researched the life cycle of a lobster and the importance of ethical fishing practices to maintain lobster numbers for the future and created a photo diary explaining the process behind lobster fishing.  In the final Endeavour showcase he bought into school lobsters which he sold for a good profit to teachers and parents- they were extremely tasty!

In his Endeavour project he was able to develop the skills for work and possible future career that were relevant to him, and was far more motivated than in other areas of his learning as a consequence.  Endeavour projects are a great way to develop skills for life, learning and work in school.

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