We were kindly invited to visit the Galley Shed prior to Up Helly Aa by the Committee. We got a tour of the galley shed, saw the finished galley and watched a video of Up Helly Aa last year. The children had the opportunity to hold a real viking torch which would then have been used by a guizer in the night time procession and thrown into the burning galley. They also got to steer the galley boat and sit in the Jarl’s chair.
Up Helly Aa Day – Outing to see the morning procession
On Up Helly Aa Day we walked from Nursery to watch the morning procession. We got to see the procession begin and saw the galley which we’d been so lucky to visit at the Galley shed the week before. We saw the whole Jarl Squad marching along the street, singing and cheering as they passed by with crowds lining the streets to watch.
Viking Visitors to Nursery
We were very lucky to have some members of the Jarl Squad come to visit us at Nursery in the afternoon on Up Helly Aa day. They kindly showed us their viking outfits and accessories and even let us try some of it out!
Up Helly Aa Crafts
During January the bairns had the opportunity to create viking crafts including their very own viking helmet and shield.
Up Helly Aa has remained a very popular interest with many of the children at Nursery, with groups often using various items as torches and cheering as they march around Nursery with their squad!
February 23, 2025
by gw09goodladesther@glow 0 comments
The pre-school children are enjoying weekly visits from Eleanor Hutcheon who is the Shetland UHI STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Outreach Co-ordinator. Eleanor is running workshops on Wednesday mornings in the General Purpose room in the school where the children have the opportunity to explore computational thinking through using Botley which is a programmable device. The children have used a remote control to enter a set of directional instructions in order to get Botley to move along a planned route. They have also learned that a set of instructions is called an algorithm.
The workshops are a great learning experience for the children as they are not only developing an understanding of computing science but also the ability to listen carefully to information and instructions. In addition, they are learning important maths skills relating to position and movement while also developing the ability to solve problems.
‘I love playing with Botley.’
‘Botley is a computer robot.’
‘You use the controller to tell Botley where to go.’
‘The green arrow is forwards.’
‘The blue and yellow arrows make Botley turn left or right.’
February 14, 2025
by gw09goodladesther@glow 0 comments