Fair Isle Primary School, Shetland

Wednesday 8^th May

Last week we went on a school trip for a few days, which was very exciting, especially as the Foula kids were staying at the hostel with us.

When everyone arrived at the hostel, we dropped our bags off and then went to Clickimin because they were cleaning the rooms for us. Before the Foula children arrived, all of us went to the sensory rooms before lunch. The rooms had lots of touch panels, lights and comfy chairs! When we came in, they showed us all the different buttons for changing the light colours of the different panels and bubble tube. There was an infinity tunnel; a screen that if you touched it, had patterns or lights and music! My favourite was the bubble tube, which you could hear if you put your ear to it.

Afterwards, we went for lunch near the café shortly followed by a swimming lesson with Foula too! Later in the afternoon, the oldest child at Foula (called Elma) and I were going on a tour of the Anderson High school. Before then everyone went to the playground for a play; that play park is my favourite one because there is a zip line and loads of swings! Before we knew it, Elma and I had to head to go to the Anderson with Alison the Foula teacher and Hamnavoe P7s too.  The tour was really interesting and the shade of orange changes for every floor and there are lots of signs so it’s very hard to get lost. Afterwards, we walked back to the hostel (in what was now the pouring rain) for a delicious dinner of sausage and mash.

In the evening Elma, Sam and I went for free swim! We played sharks in the rapids until closing time. Everyone else went for a rainy walk around Clickimin loch for some fresh air.

Freyja (11)

Thursday 9^th May

After breakfast, we all went to Montfield Dentist. The dental nurse checked our teeth and coated them with fluoride varnish. We also learned how to brush our teeth properly.  We had to brush pretend teeth to make sure all the bits were away. The only way you could see the bits was with an ultraviolet torch so we had to keep checking.  We also saw how much sugar was in different snacks.  We had to put teaspoons of sugar in a bowl to see!

After that we went for another swimming lesson at Clickimin with the Foula kids.  We had to swim with a woggle or a float and we got to go down the flumes.  Ander went down the flumes for the first time!

Hollie, Harris and I had to rush to Tingwall for our flight but P1 and P7 had to stay to see the school nurse.  We waited at Tingwall for 3 hours because there was fog over Fair Isle!  It was very boring and I watched the same weather forecast 4 times! The others got to go to Harry’s but luckily Ander and Heidi bought toys for me and Harris. The fog went away just in time for us all to get home.

By Luca (9)

When we were on the school trip, I took my Deep End Test at the Clickimin. Firstly, you had to jump in to the pool and then you had to do front crawl for a length. After that, you had to do back crawl for most of a length. Finally you had to float in the shape of a star on your back and then on your front and tread water.  Then Sally told me I had passed. This means I can go in the very deep end now.

By Harris (9) 

I had fun on the school trip. I went to swimming lessons. I went to the dentist.  I got hot and cold putty in Harry’s toy shop.

By Ander (6) 

I had fun on the school trip. I went to the pool. Me and Edith splashed Gillian. I went to Harry’s toy shop.  I got a toy.

By Heidi (6)

On Thursday, the children and staff did a tremendous job collecting bruck along the roadside from the school down to Utra and back up the west road. Although, to the eye, the litter wasn’t too bad we still managed to collect 4 large bagfuls! A huge thanks goes to Eileen for preparing delicious home-bakes! Everyone enjoyed their pitstop at Houll! As always, the children were delighted to find some sweeties around Stackhoull Stores (thanks). We plan to clean up Muckle Uri Geo this weekend.

It was World Water Day on Friday 22nd March.  We know that water is vital for life and we use it every day for drinking, washing, brushing our teeth, cooking, gardening and for farming.  We know how privileged we are in our country to have an abundance of clean, safe water straight to the taps in our homes.  This is not the case around the world. Unfortunately 2 billion people drink unsafe water and this needs to change as every child should be able to access safe water for their health.  We learned that some children even have to miss school in order to travel long distances on foot to collect water for their family. This impacts on their right to education.

We learned more about groundwater and aquifers.  Groundwater slowly filters underground to join aquifers that provide a source of water.  This can be accessed by building wells.

We appreciate how precious water is for life and survival. We decided to create a poster to display around our school and in our local community to encourage everyone to do their bit to save it.

This week the children of Fair Isle Primary went on a trip to Lerwick for two nights, staying at the Anderson High School Halls.   The plane was delayed on Monday so unfortunately we missed our first swimming lesson but we made it in time for dinner then went to Clickimin Pool for an evening swim.

The following morning, we went back to the pool for an hour’s swimming lesson. After a well-deserved snack then an early lunch, we headed into town to visit Harry’s toy shop to spend our pocket money and have a play at the park.

After that, we visited Lerwick Police Station and met Sergeant Alan and Constable Anya.  We had a tour of the police station.  We learned about the equipment they carry and were able to try on Alan’s vest – it was very heavy! Next we met Bravo the dog who works for the police.  We learned about his job to sniff out illegal substances.  He was very friendly and enjoyed some belly rubs.  One of the most exciting parts of the visit was exploring the prison cells!  There was only a toilet and a mattress on the floor! We could see our friends on the cameras.  We had our custody booking photos taken and some of us had our finger prints done too.  Anya showed us the police van that had a cell in the back.  She switched on the lights and sirens!  Lerwick police station was definitely a highlight of the trip!

Shortly after that, we made our way down to Aa’ Fired Up for a pottery session.  Freyja designed a coaster, Harris a trinket pot thing, Heidi a unicorn, Luca a sign and Ander a racing car.  They will go into the kiln in the next week so we will get them another day.  We enjoyed some fudge and a drink too.

After dinner, we went to Fjara for ice-cream and met Luca and Ander’s dad, Guillermo, who was in Lerwick training to be a retained firefighter for the isle.  After that we went back to Halls to watch a movie then bed.

The following morning, we were up early and packed as we had to be in Aith for 0930 for our climbing wall session. We met Kevin who showed us the equipment and some techniques then it was time to climb up to the top.  Everyone, except Heidi and Gillian, had a turn (we were very proud of Hollie too) or two.

It was a lovely day so we explored Michael’s Wood which is a fabulous place with trees and fun trails to follow!  We loved it so much we stayed there for a picnic lunch and another play before heading to Tingwall Primary School for an afternoon visit.

A very friendly welcome party was there to greet us for a play at lunchbreak then it was time to go to class for a lesson.  Freyja met other Primary 7s who were also transitioning to AHS after the summer which was very exciting for her!  It was brilliant fun to experience a bigger school and to make new friends.  Shortly after, it was time to head to the airstrip and make our way back to Fair Isle. We had an amazing trip!

February was LGBTQ+ history month.  Over the past year, we have learned more about the LGBTQ+ community and how attitudes have changed over the past 50 years.  Last month in class, we learned about the discrimination suffered in the past.  Some young people were bullied in school and it was something people didn’t feel they could talk.  In the past, the LGBTQ+ community was not represented on TV programs.  This made people feel isolated and sad, or even scared to reveal their sexual orientation.  People even went to jail like Alan Turin who broke the enigma code during the Second World War!  At FIPS, we believe everyone is equal and should be treated fairly.  In school we learned about the different flags and what they represent.  We painted some flags in school (progressive pride, lesbian and bi-sexual) and displayed them on our windows to show our support.  By writing this blog, we are also sharing our support further afield. The more we talk about LGBTQ+ and raise awareness.

We decided to hold a coffee morning for Red Nose Day on Friday 15th March.  Luca and Harris designed a poster to put up in the shop.  We came up with a couple of games to play.  The first was pin the red nose on the clown.  Pat won that and the prize was a box of chocolates.  The other game was guess how many mini eggs in the jar.  Robert won that game but gave the jar of mini eggs back to be shared between all the children.  We baked cookies with Hollie and George.  There were other cakes too.  People put a donation into the box at the door.  We raised £380 in total and we want to thank the very generous people of Fair Isle! It was a lovely morning that brought our community together for a great cause.

In class, we learned more about Comic Relief and how the charity helps other people.  The money raised is used to help people in the UK and around the world to access food, safe housing, education, health and special service or support. We are learning about Children’s Rights in School.  In Fair Isle, we are fortunate to enjoy all our rights and every child in the world deserves the same.  We know that the money we raised will help other children around the world to access their rights.

We asked people to design some red noses of their own to add to our display!