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April 27, 2023
by Leona Sandison
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King Charles III Coronation 🤴

Whalsay School are looking forward to celebrating King Charles III upcoming Coronation!

We have various events planned in school to mark this momentous occasion:

Friday 5th May

Coronation Lunch – All pupils in Nursery, Primary and Secondary will sit together to enjoy a Coronation Lunch. They will go home as normal at 2pm.

Fancy Dress – Pupils are encouraged to come to school dressed up as ‘Best of British’ theme or are welcome to wear red, blue or white.

Monday 8th May

The Big Help Out – To mark The King’s Coronation, thousands of organisations across the country are getting together to help out in the local community as part of The Big Help Out. We are hoping the weather will be favourable to allow us to carrying out a Voar Redd Up from Fernlea to the School to acknowledge our links between the two settings. To ensure all Primary classes can be involved, we are looking for parent helpers to support with the event. If you would like to help out between 11:00am and 12:30pm please complete this form – The Big Help Out (office.com)

Coronation Afternoon Teas – Pupils suggested having a fundraiser for the Coronation with some money going to charity and the rest supporting with activities and resources in school. As a result, we would like to invite all parents, carers and the wider Whalsay community to the Primary School from 3.00pm – 5.00pm for afternoon teas. There will be a selection of sandwiches, savoury and sweet treats available. There is no set price, we are asking for donations instead, which will be gratefully received at the door. Primary 7 will also have various stalls set up (50p/£1 per go).
Please note that all pupils must be accompanied by an adult in the canteen. For any Secondary pupils wishing to attend at 3pm, parents can collect them from the Secondary. Buses will be as normal.

Open Afternoon – The Primary and Nursery departments will be open during the teas for people to have a look around. There will be work on display from classes throughout the Primary related to Britain and the King’s Coronation.

We look forward to seeing you there! 🎉👑

April 27, 2023
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Shetland’s Young Fiddler of the Year

Congratulations to Evie Williamson who was named Shetland’s Young Fiddler of the Year on Saturday night, winning the Frank Jamieson Memorial Trophy as well as the Open and Traditional competitions. Evie was playing a fiddle made by dad, Gilbert and follows in the footsteps of Magnus who won in 2021. You can read more about Evie’s success here.

Whalsay was represented in all three of the age groups with Tom Williamson and Henry Anderson in the Junior class and Effie Anderson in the Intermediate class. All received the new 2023 fiddle case sticker and a signed certificate for their participation. All the fiddlers enjoyed the event and some have already started thinking about what they would play at the 2024 event! The fiddle players enjoyed the experience playing on a professional venue stage. Many new friendships with musicians from other schools has been made at this year’s event.

All of these pupils get their instrumental tuition from Eunice Henderson every Monday. Parents and pupils will be able to hear them, the other instrumentalists and some upper Primary class groups at our Afternoon Concert. Please note that this concert has been rearranged for Wednesday 10th May.

April 20, 2023
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Homework Survey – Reminder for Parents

Just a reminder that this session we are consulting with pupils, parents and staff on Homework. We would like to find out about how homework is being organised and experienced at the moment and work towards an agreed understanding on how homework should be managed in future. Thanks to all those who have completed the survey already. If you haven’t done this yet, please help us with this by completing the it here.

April 1, 2023
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Whalsay School ELC Duty of Candour Report 2022-23

Whalsay School Early Learning & Childcare Duty of Candour Report 2022-23

All health and social care services in Scotland have a duty of candour. This is a legal requirement which means that when things go wrong and mistakes happen, the people affected understand what has happened, receive an apology, and that organisations learn how to improve for the future.

An important part of this duty is that we provide an annual report about the duty of candour in our services. This short report describes how Whalsay School has operated the duty of candour during the time between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. We hope you find this report useful.

1. About Whalsay School ELC

Whalsay School ELC is a local authority provided day-care service for children based in Whalsay. The setting offers 1140 hours per annum to our users.

2. How many incidents happened to which the duty of candour applies?

In the last year, there have been no incidents to which the duty of candour applied.

3. Information about our policies and procedures

Where something has happened that triggers the Duty of Candour, our staff would report this to the Head Teacher, who has responsibility for ensuring that the Duty of Candour procedure is followed. The Head Teacher records the incident and reports as necessary to the Care Inspectorate. Should an incident happen, the Head Teacher and staff would set up a learning review, allowing all staff involved to review what happened and identify learning outcomes and changes for the future.

In any instance of a severe incident we will seek occupational welfare support to help any member of staff who has been affected by a Duty of Candour incident.

In any instance where parents/carers, children or other service users are affected by the duty of candour we have arrangements in place to provide welfare support as necessary.

4. Other information

If you would like more information about the Duty of Candour please do not hesitate to contact us.

March 29, 2023
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Former Pupil features in Evening of Science

One of our former students, Lauren Sandison, featured in the Evening of Science, held on Thursday night in Mareel. This was a showcase of the work done by Anderson High School Science Baccalaureate students.

The Scottish Baccalaureate in Science is open to S6 pupils at AHS who are studying at least two courses in Science or Maths, at least one of which is at Advanced Higher level. Part of the Baccalaureate involves the pupil researching a specific scientific topic and presenting this to a wider audience at an event they have organised themselves. This has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding experience and help equip the pupils with the generic skills, attitudes and confidence necessary to make the transition into Higher Education and/or employment. From what I saw on Thursday night this definitely was achieved.

There were a group of 5 pupils this year, one of which was our very own Lauren Sandison. Lauren delivered a 20min talk on Teratology and the effects on Foetal Development. Her powerpoint presentation was packed with good images and interesting information. Lauren was relaxed throughout and delivered her talk confidently with a little humour at times. Lauren said after that she had been very nervous but that she had enjoyed the whole Baccalaureate experience and would recommend it to anyone who wants to pursue a career in Science. As a well done present we gave Lauren a packet of biscuits we knew was her favourite from her Chemistry days in Whalsay J

Article by Caroline Simpson (biscuits: Iain MacInnes)

March 28, 2023
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Young Scot/Junior National Entitlement Cards

Some pupils in S1 have been asking about Young Scot cards. Below is some information from Youth Services about how young people can go about applying for them:

Young Scot/Junior National Entitlement Cards

The Under 22years Free Bus Travel Scheme launched in January 2022, this allows young people aged 5-21 to travel for free on any bus in Scotland. To access this free travel, young people will need to have a Young Scot National Entitlement Card (11-21years) or a Junior National Entitlement Card (5-10years).

Children under 16 years old will need their parent/guardian to apply on their behalf and provide approval for free bus travel. Young people aged 16-21 years will be able to apply for a young scot card and free bus travel themselves. If a young person already has an existing young scot card but it does not work on the buses for free bus travel, please complete the “already has” form.

The Shetland Islands Council have created their own local online forms to make the application process more straightforward for parents/guardians and young people. Here are the links to the application forms:

My child is 5-10years and does not have a Junior National Entitlement Card

My child is 11years+ and does not have a Young Scot/National Entitlement Card

My child is 11years+ and already has a Young Scot/National Entitlement Card

I am aged 16-21 and do not have a Young Scot/National Entitlement Card

I am aged 16-21 and already have a Young Scot/National Entitlement Card

If you require the Disabled Concessionary Travel then please contact our colleagues at Transport Planning 01595744868 or email transport@shetland.gov.uk.

If you need assistance with the form or do not have access to the internet, please contact Youth and Employability Services on 01595744490 or email youthservices@shetland.gov.uk Please note, no card will be received if an application form is not completed.

For further information, please visit: www.shetland.gov.uk/youth-services

Here is a reminder of the benefits of a Young Scot NEC, available for young people aged 11-26:

Two free ferry journeys per year (16-18years) between Shetland and Aberdeen
Free bus travel until 22^nd birthday
Discounted train costs (16-18years)
Young Scot discounts and all special offers at over 1,800 places in Scotland, and 200,000 places in 42 European countries
Voluntary proof of age through the Proof of Age Standards Scheme, endorsed by the British Retail Consortium across the UK.

For more information about the Young Scot National Entitlement Card, please visit the website www.young.scot/the-young-scot-card

March 25, 2023
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Secondary African Drumming Group perform at Music Festival

During Wider Achievement on Fridays, a group of pupils in S1/2 have opted to do sessions of African Drumming with Joy Duncan. On Wednesday they travelled down to the Shetland Schools’ Music Festival to perform the piece they had been working on. The judges were very complementary about their performance and invited them back for the Gala concert on Thursday. Unfortunately, they had to decline the offer as not all of the pupils could attend. However, they should be congratulated for doing so well in spite of the disruptions to their practices. Many thanks to Joy Duncan for all her work and encouragement with this group.

March 24, 2023
by Miss Irvine
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Friday Fun Needle Felt

Earlier this term, Ann-Marie volunteered to teach a group of pupils how to needle felt for Friday Fun. We discussed about creating a piece with the Haa in the middle as a nod to the New Haa being 200 years old this year, surrounded by objects that represented Whalsay including the school teams – Maalie, Tirrick and Shalder, fishing, crofting etc. The group have learned a new skill in how to needle felt and were able to work independently on pieces with support from Ann-Marie.

I think you can agree that the finished piece looks absolutely stunning and we are delighted that it is now hanging splendidly in the Primary.

Well done to the needle-felters and a huge thank you to Ann-Marie.

March 14, 2023
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Snow Closure – Tuesday 13th March

All schools in Shetland will be shut today because of the overnight snow. Home Learning activities/suggestions are available in earlier blog posts and on Teams. S4 pupils should continue with revision activities suggested by their teachers. We will update S2 parents/carers later today about the John Muir day planned for tomorrow.

March 10, 2023
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Snow Closure – Friday 10th March

Due to the prevailing weather and road conditions in parts of the isle and around the school, Whalsay School will be shut again to most pupils today. However, we would like to invite S4 pupils to attend school this morning to make progress on coursework in Art & Design, Design & Manufacture and French. Families should only send/bring pupils in if they feel that the conditions at the time are safe for them to make their way to school. All other pupils should check Teams (or the school blog for younger pupils) if they are needing work to keep them occupied.