Author: Ms Whorlow

As part of Safer Internet Day (SID)2020, we would like to highlight available support and advice information for parents and carers that may be of interest to you.  A great  source for family home resources and information is the SID website link, as shown below:

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2020/i-am-parent-or-carer

The site contains a wide range of materials that can be used to talk to your child about online safety this Safer Internet Day. This includes activities, conversation starters and information to help parents and carers talk to their children about how to navigate the issue of online identity in a digital age in a safe, responsible and respectful way.

Attached is a sample Family Internet Safety Planner that allows you to formulate your own approach to internet safety in your home environment.  There is also a resource sheet detailing links to further sources of information.  Both are downloadable directly from this blog or from the website above.

Why not use the prompts shown in the image (click to enlarge), and below, to see how you can start a conversation with your child using the top 5 tips to keep our young people safe online. :

Our internet, our choice, so…

1. Choose to have a conversation

   Talk regularly with your child about how they use technology, and find out what their digital life is like, including what their favourite sites and services are and also how being online makes them feel. Listening to your child will give you the best possible idea of how you can support them. Not sure where to begin? Have a look at our suggested conversation starters for parents.

2. Choose to take a balanced approach

   As parents it’s natural to feel worried about the risks posed by your child being online, but for young people the online world is exciting and fun, as it brings so many opportunities for them. Remember that your child will use technology and the internet differently given that they are growing up in a world immersed in all things digital. Try to look at both the positive and negative aspects of being online and empower your child with safe choices they can make instead of overwhelming them with restrictions.

3. Choose to make use of the tools available to you

   There are lots of tools to help you manage the devices used by your family. For example, knowing how to activate and use parental controls can help protect your child from seeing inappropriate content online. For advice and guidance on how to make use of parental controls and other safety features on devices, check out our free Parents’ Guide to Technology and Internet Matters’ step-by-step parental controls guides for online services. 

4. Choose to get help and support

   It can sometimes feel like young people are the experts in all things digital but remember – you are the life experts. You are always there to help your child but make sure you know how to get support too by visiting our Need Help? page. You can take steps to support your child online by using features such as privacy settings on social media and understanding how to make a report on a range of apps, games and services.

5. Choose to be current and topical

   This Safer Internet Day focuses on the very relevant topic of consent in the digital world. Use this as an opportunity to support your child with how they tackle digital consent within relationships and friendships as well as how online services use the data we provide. Use our quick activities as a family this Safer Internet Day to help you unpick this topic together.

   # Responsible Citizens

Parents and Carers – Family internet safety plan

Parents and Carers – Resource sheet

P4-7 braved the chilly day today to pop outside to have an outdoor maths session.  The focus was measurement, perimeter and area.

P6 & 7 measured the length and breadth of our football pitch in metres.  They recorded their length as 17m by 30m. They calculated that the perimeter  was 94m and the area was 510 metres squared.

P4 & 5 measured the length and breadth of the paving slab, which was 60cm by 90cm.  We calculated the perimeter as 300cm (3m).  The area was 60 x 90 cm = 540cm squared. ( Some took an extra challenge of working in decimals: 0.6. x 0.9=  0.54 m squared)

As it was so chilly, we popped back inside and worked out the area and perimeter of our P.E. hall.  Some children worked in whole numbers, whilst others worked accurately to 1 decimal place. The children produced a scale drawing of the measured area using cm squared paper.

We then applied real life problem solving to work out costs of placing a border around the hall  and the price of carpeting the hall (differentiated by price per metre).

# Successful Learners

All the boys and girls have been very busy applying their S.T.E.A.M. skills in the context of our Scottish Burn’s celebrations. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths)

The children were set a home challenge of producing an artistic creation to represent the theme of the Scottish poems they have each been learning.  We have been so impressed by the standard and variety of entries.  We have models, dioramas, fabric craft AND artwork!  Our pupils have been applying a wide range of STEAM skills such as designing, selecting materials, measuring, combining, cutting, sticking, sewing, shaping, decorating and even wiring electric lights to name but a few – Wow!

The judges will have a very hard time selecting a winner from each category.  Well done everyone!

Thank you to every family for their support in this challenge.  We hope you enjoyed being creative together.

# Successful Learners

As part of our Scottish celebrations P4-7 has been learning about the legend of the Kelpies.  Mrs Copeland, our resident art specialist, showed the children artwork and images of kelpies as depicted in traditional folklore.  She then demonstrated the technique of creating tint and shade by adding white and black to, in this case, a blue pallet was practiced.

The children have now applied those techniques for themselves and have taken great care and attention with their artistic creations. They have all produced very lovely images which are now on display for all in school to see.

# Successful Learners

P4-7 got their geneticist heads on today.  We have used our links with Stranraer Academy to borrow their Inheritance primary  loan kit. The children have been learning about how lifeforms inherit their physical and biological characteristics from their parents.

Using the Academy reebop resource, the pupils selected chromosomes from a mum and dad reebop.  Dependent on the combination selected, they then constructed the baby reebop traits to match the ‘building block’ code. You can see the wide diversity of appearance that our reebop babies have inherited.

# Successful Learners

P4-7 have been participating in a maths career based activity called I’m a Mathematician, Get me out of here.  We have been learning about how maths helps a range of experts do jobs in different fields.

As in our science web chat session, the boys and girls interacted with the scientists, asking them a range of topical science questions on their field of expertise.  The pool of scientists present in the session was varied, representing a balance of genders, a broad spectrum of ethnic groups and specialist fields.  The children had an opportunity to explore the diversity of the world of work in this STEM sector.

I’m a Mathematician, Get me out of here is an online, student-led enrichment activity where students connect with people who have maths at the heart of their work.

To get our brains in gear ready for our chatroom session with experts, we watched a very entertaining Christmas Maths lecture: on the mysteries of the never ending number.

https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/2006/the-num8er-my5teries/lecture-1

We learned about prime numbers sequences and how species of insect use prime numbers to avoid predators.  This links with our science topic of adaptation and evolution.  Also, we discovered more on working out formulae and the power of doubling.

We then moved on to study career profiles for two mathematicians:Chloe Martindale, a cryptographer and William Petterson, a computer scientist.The children worked collectively to compile a list of relevant questions to ask these experts to find out more about how maths is used in their careers.

We had a 30 minute scheduled chat room today session where we typed in our questions and received responses in real time.

The children were enthusiastic and even received a tip or two on how to start preparing now for a future career as a mathematician.

# Successful learners

P1-7 gathered together to mark the final day of term with their annual Christmas party.

The children enjoyed a buffet lunch of savoury and sweet treats. This was followed by a party agenda to be proud of, as organised by our house captains, Findlay Thorburn and Lillie Baker. The boys and girls were entertained with a mix of both traditional and new games.

After the games, the children received a special visitor – Santa arrived ringing his bell. He kindly gave out presents to every boy and girl, which goes to show they must all be on the nice list! Mums, dads, grandparents and family joined us to watch the festivities.
The children sung him a song before he departed to make his final preparations for the big night.

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

Our naughty elves, Elvis and Coco, said goodbye to the boys and girls today.  Before they departed for the North Pole, they left the children a present of gingerbread house building kits.  

The school divided into small teams and got stuck in with their construction and design skills.  The children quickly realised that patience and a steady hand was required to complete the challenge.  They had to consider what edible materials they could use to ‘glue’ the sections together. Whilst they were waiting for the structures to stabilise, the boys and girls decorated gingerbread figures to enjoy at morning break. 

Design and decoration skills were then put into action to create a pleasing, sweet treat pattern finish to their home decor.

Throughout the task, a range of soft skills were applied, such as discussion, idea sharing, encouragement and cooperation.  Even when there was a collapse or two, the children demonstrated perseverance with a smile. 

At the end of the challenge, ever team had successfully constructed a fine, free standing gingerbread house fit for any elf to live in.

Each group’s entry was entered into a competition where 1st, 2nd and 3rd place were awarded on the basis of criteria such as stability, resilience and presentation. Names were put into a hat and drawn for a lucky pupil to take their team’s entry home.

# Successful learners

The whole school had a fabulous time at a Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime at the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr yesterday.  The show was very entertaining with many a giggle moment. Our favourite character was Patsy the Cow.

At intermission, the children were treated to an ice-cream. Atticus was the lucky winner of a goodie bag full of treats!

After the show, everyone then went to the Stage Door restaurant for a lovely lunch.

We all enjoyed the wonderful entertainment and food.

Thank you to the Community Council for the ice cream treats and to the Parent Council for financing the bus transport.  Thank you also, to our parent helpers Sian and Alan.  A great day was had by all!