Primary School of the Year 2022
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.
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.
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.
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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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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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. 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.
Every 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
On 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.
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page?type=book&view=&query=trunk+skunk#startbook
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!
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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The 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. 
Then 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.
This is how you do reciprocal reading.
You read some of your book and you choose an activity. Then you write about it after that you talk about it to the rest of your group. The activities are Predicting, Clarifying, Questioning, Summarizing, Connecting, Visualizing, Inferring, Evaluating. This is how you get better at understanding what you read. We are reading Cool by Michael Morpurgo.
In school we have been learning about maps, compass points and symbols. We are making our own map in groups the groups are called the adventurous, the muddy maps, the orienteering otters and the history hippies. Talking about orienteering we are using maps in orienteering to help use maps properly and also because it is our topic, it is good fun. We have been doing degrees of the compass and bearings. I have not quite got it yet but I will get it. I also need to know how to use a map because it is a bit complicated with all of the wee lines on the maps although it is complicated it is still fun.
By Rowan P567
The P5/6/7’s in Port Ellen Primary School are doing a topic on Orienteering. We had to learn about reading maps properly so we could find the posts quicker. When we did Orienteering, Mrs Clark our teacher, timed us and she said whoever came quickest back got to design a orienteering course for us to find the flags. It was great fun. We all were with a partner. We all were very puffed after orienteering but we all had fun, and we all are looking forward to do Orienteering again soon!
Global citizens is a group included in the citizenship groups. They are helping to try and stop the issues around the world like: deforestation,endangered animals,animal abuse,children in need etc. We also do things about fair-trade like fair-trade tuck and what it is. We also want the environment to stay litter free so that the environment can stay healthy. Global citizens will do their best to make the world around us a better place to live in.
Advice to parents on how much screen time small children should have has changed – basically, from ‘none’ to ‘it’s OK to have some.’ Here are our commonsensical top tips on how to manage infants’ screen time to make sure they develop healthily and happily without making life impossible for you.
At our school every friday in the afternoon we have citizenship groups. The group names are Media, Crofters, Vice- captain and captian group, Eco, Global citizens, Book club and enterprize. The media group write blogs, the crofters group go up to our croft that p3/4 last year fixed and the crofters go up and plant stuff up the croft and down the front of the school, the book club sort out the libary out in the upstairs corridor they also organize the book swap and they preswade people in the school to read morel, the enterprise group they organize the fair trade tuck, the vice – captain and captain group is for the vice – captain and captains to do all there duties and the eco group their doing the eco wall.
All The Groups Have Fun
Our p567s did a 1 mile walk around the school. They figured out how many times they needed to walk around the outside of the playground to make 1 mile. They had to walk it 4 times to make a mile. They all had lots of fun doing it.
Last week we found out the new captains and vice captains. Everybody in primary 6/7 were campaigning for a spot as captain or vice captain. There are 2 vice captains and 1 house captain for every house. There are 3 houses Orsay, Texa and Nave. In Orsay we have Bronagh who is the captain then the vice captains are Rhuraidh and Katie. In Texa we have for the captain Natalie then for the vice captains we have Eva and Darren. Then for Nave our captain is Mirren and for the vice captains we have Ross and Sophie.
On Thursday we went on a walk up the distillery path behind the school car park. We walked to the gate halfway to Ardbeg and then we turned back and started to come back to the school. This was one mile. If we walk a mile then we will get stamina. When we where back at the school we went to a rock behind the car park then we had a race. We ran along the wall,then to the wooden hut then we came back to the rock,had a seat then we went home. And we were all tired. Braeden said he thought it was quite good and Orla enjoyed it too.
by Rhys, Ciaran
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