S1 have been busy learning some basic hand sewing in the last few weeks and made beautiful tree decorations using a running stitch and whip stitch or blanket stitch.
Christmas cooking  in S1, S2 and S4 included shortbread, Gingerbread house biscuits and chocolate log.
Whalsay school returned to the Shetland Science Fair at the Clickimin Leisure Complex at the beginning of term 2. S1 and S2 pupils attended to participate in a mixture of different activities to capture the interest of learners, presented by various groups within Shetland and by some visiting guests. As well as learning new information in the workshops, the pupils were using problem solving skills and taking part in groupwork throughout.
The Exploring Energyscapes workshop gave an insight into archaeology, run by Archaeology Scotland. Pupils learned about the use of Magnetometers, and how a dig site is chosen. Pupils then learned about mills found in the Quendale area and got to design and test their own water mill design. Pupils were also shown artefacts of archaeological finds from Shetland and Orkney.
Dynamic Earth returned to Shetland with their Portable Planetarium to deliver a stargazing show in our local sky, sharing some seasonal celestial highlights and space news. Many pupils reported that they enjoyed learning about space within the portable planetarium and that “they don’t know what some of the sky looks like and it’s names.”
The session from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh highlighted the diverse careers at the Botanics and learners used hands-on activities to explore the varied skills and jobs that help improve biodiversity and combat climate change.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland ran an session involving a series of fun games and activities which included exploring artefacts they brought. The experts shared stories of local and global conservation, learning about our amazing animals, the issues they face, the actions their charity takes and what we can do as individuals to help them. Learners enjoyed learning about animals, specifically where a snail breathing hole is located – we wouldn’t want to mix that fact up…
The Dundee Science Centre ran an engineering workshop which focused on renewable energy. This workshop discussed electrical principles and the machines that use them, linking the learning to career pathways in electrical engineers and electricians. Pupils were involved in making a simple battery, setting up electrical circuits, and discussing energy transfer and storage. Pupils were highly engaged in this session, reporting that they learned “how to make electricity in different ways” and “that potatoes can make energy.”
Science Skills Academy launched an air pressure rockets session! Pupils worked together to build rockets which they launched indoors with an air-pressure rocket launcher. Competition was fierce to see whose rocket launched fastest!
Members of the SIC Climate Change Strategy Team ran hands on experiments for learners which focused on ocean acidification using sea shells and vinegar, an experiment involving albedo to demonstrate different heating qualities, and sea level rise using water and ice to show the effects of ice caps melting.
UHI Shetland ran two exhibits: The Marine Sector VR experience and A Day in the Life exhibition. The Marine Sector VR allowed users to experience typical workplace tasks from the aquaculture and fish processing industries in several scenarios. A Day in the Life was an interactive exhibition stand where learners explored what it’s like to work in the seafood industry. They explored microscopy, fish health checks and cage site tasks relevant to salmon farming. Pupils also had the chance to speak to Arnold Goodlad, an experienced fisherman from Burra. Arnold enjoyed meeting the Whalsay bairns and knew a lot of their Grandas. He shared stories and photographs about the progression of fishing over the years. This session was very popular among pupils!
Overall, the Shetland Science Fair was once again a huge success which was thoroughly enjoyed by all attending staff and pupils from Whalsay school. We were delighted to have the opportunity to experience relatable learning within the community from knowledgeable and experienced members in their respective fields. The pupils represented their school positively throughout and engaged with each of the exhibitions they attended. When asked if they would recommend the Science Fair to a friend they responded with “I would 100% recommend it to a friend because it was a very fun experience” and “it’s really interesting, it has lots of activities and lots of topics.” “We learned so much but we especially enjoyed learning about the renewable energy.” Everybody agreed they’d had a great time and when asked if they felt this visit was worth the journey and effort, the answer was a resounding YES!!
S1 learners were treated to a lesson on fireworks and sparklers from a S3 Chemistry pupil.
S1 recently completed their topic on Elements, Compounds & Mixtures and were broadening their knowledge on the topic with a demonstration relating to a real-word context.
They were guided through the different flame colours provided by different salts containing metal ions, which creates the colourful display from fireworks. Learners were shown a sparkling finale to demonstrate how sparklers work.
Each pupil was given a task to identify the unknown salt by testing to find the flame colour when burned. Working together they successfully identified the 3 salts as sodium chloride which burned with a yellow flame, potassium chloride which burned with a lilac flame, and lithium chloride which burned with a red flame.
Well done Tasnim for delivering this engaging session to S1! She showed great leadership skills in guiding and motivating younger learners in science.
A Connected community of …. volleyball players!
Well done and thank you to everyone who took part in our staff, parents and senior pupils volleyball game. The number of participants may have been higher but for some challenging weather conditions! Very well played to everyone who took to the court to play – a lovely way of bringing people together and a game played with smiles on faces and in great spirit!
A big thank you to Ms. Cheyne for organising the whole game – talks of a rematch are already underway … Watch this space!
    Bats about BatsÂ
Over the last few months there have been quite a few sightings of Bats in Whalsay. Several of the pupils have seen (and heard them). Ms Irvine saw two bats at Hamister and even managed to get a smudgy photo of one as it fled past her.
Mrs Simpson’s S2 class were full of questions that she couldn’t answer so she decided to invite our local Bat expert, Mr Pete Gulliver, to visit the class.
Pete came into school on 3 December and gave a fascinating talk and slide show.  He has tracked and monitored bats for years and often cares for injured or exhausted bats. He had amazing footage of a bat flying around his hallway at home. He took in the equipment he uses to listen to bats and played audio clips, explaining how to distinguish between the different species. In one sound clip there were 4 different species of bat identified at one time. What shocked everybody was that this sound clip came from Skerries a couple of months ago!
Bella Jamieson, who only recently took up crocheting, had made a beautiful bat (without a pattern!) as a thank you gift. Bella presented this to Pete on behalf of the whole class.
Pete messaged later to say “..the pupils were wonderful and very attentive. Please make a special point of thanking Bella for my beautiful gift, I am thrilled with it and am going to name it “Pip”.
The feedback from the pupils was very good. Several said they were now much more interested in seeing a bat and knew what to look out for and when.  One pupil stated they thought Mr Gulliver was very kind to be devoting so much time and effort into caring for bats and helping release injured ones back into the wild. Everybody left the talk much more informed and enthusiastic about bats so the whole class would like to say a HUGE
thank you again to Pete.
Last week saw our Secondary pupils take part in a well contested and highly skilful Interhouse basketball competition.
A big thanks to the Team Captains for taking Responsibility for the organisation of their teams and to Ms. Cheyne for leading the event.
I write this blog post as a very proud Head Teacher having had the pleasure of being involved in a day of learning which shone a light on the diverse range of learning, volunteering and employment opportunities available here in Whalsay.
On Thursday, we had P7, S1, S2, S3 and S4 pupils visit 28 stations that were occupied by different businesses and service providers who operate within the isle. Witnessing all of our exhibitors share their passions for their professions and contributions to community life, engage with our pupils and make connections through points of mutual interest was wonderful to observe. Discussions ranged from subject interests and specialisms to career pathways to what is involved in different roles within healthcare and leisure, renewable energies, transport, fishing and a whole host of other opportunities within the isle.
The event embodied what we are always striving for as a school – To be a Connected Community of Learners who take opportunities to learn from one another and support one another.
This event would not have been possible but for a lot of time, dedication and effort from multiple organisers behind the scenes. To Mrs. Hamilton, our Business Management and ASN teacher, a very sincere thank you for making and developing many connections with local businesses. To Emily van Tonder, Emma Chittick and the team at Developing the Young Workforce, a very sincere thank you for your skills and expertise in coordinating and communicating with multiple parties to ensure the day ran smoothly. A big congratulations to our pupils for asking lots of questions and being keen to learn about opportunities that may play a prominent part in their future after school. To our staff here at the school, who supported with logistics and arrangements as well as representing the school as a potential place of employment in the future, a sincere thank you.
Finally, to all our exhibitors, a very sincere thank you for your time and efforts for showcasing your work in various capacities. It has inspired lots of great conversations in school today and prompted plenty of thinking and reflection amongst our pupils and staff.
Screen Free Zone – Secondary break times
Health and Creativity – Following discussions with parents and pupils, we are introducing a ‘screen free’ zone for Secondary pupils for first break (10:35 – 10:50)
Pupils are welcome to the Music classroom on the ground floor where pupils can read, draw, play board games etc as an alternative to being on screens.
Supervision for the area will be rotated between different staff volunteers.
Thanks (again!) to Miss O’Dwyer for kindly creating the digital poster to raise awareness of this initiative.
Responsibility – Taking responsibility for our learning and our homework.
At the request of pupils and parents, we have launched an after school Homework club.
The Homework club will run on Wednesday afternoons from 3:45 – 4:45 in the Music room.
Different staff members will be supervising on different weeks and will provide support with learning as much as is possible but this may not be in a specialist subject area.
Sincere thanks to Ms. O’Dwyer for creating the poster below:
There is no club running this week (Wednesday 26th November) due to the S3 Parents Evening.
Thank you to Mrs.Carr for organising a litter pick in and around the school grounds – both Primary and Secondary areas.
Well done to the pupils for taking Responsibility for making sure that our school is looking its best!
