Whalsay School

May 17, 2023
by Miss Irvine
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Whalsay School Coronation Celebrations

Whalsay School have certainly had a fun filled Coronation Weekend.

Pupils and staff decorated the Primary school with bunting, balloons, flags and cardboard Kings to commemorate the Coronation weekend.

On Friday 5^th May

The school kicked off its celebrations with a Coronation Lunch and Fancy dress. At a Primary Pupil Council meeting last term it was suggested that everyone should dress up to celebrate the Coronation Lunch. It was agreed on a Best of British theme and for pupils who do not want to dress up, they were encouraged to wear something red, white or blue. It was lovely to see pupils looking so dapper!

The canteen staff made a delicious coronation picnic style lunch followed by coconut slice and a Coronation cupcake, served to pupils by school staff. The tables were named after Royal Houses and Primary pupils spent the morning making hats for the occasion. The older primary classes and secondary had a Coronation quiz to complete at their tables.

Similarly to mark the Jubilee celebrations last year, we are grateful that the Parent Council supported the school by funding resources for classes and for Coronation pin badges and mini mars bars for pupils to commemorate the occasion.

The lunch was rounded off by a rendition of Happy Birthday to Robbie who in turn thanked and asked for 3 cheers to the cooks.

Monday 8^th May

Unfortunately, the weather was not favourable in the morning for the Primary and nursery to do a Voar Redd Up and take part in The Big Help Out. We had a number of parents kindly volunteering to help so we hope they will be able to join us another day. We are tidying a couple of beaches and the roadside between the school and Fernlea to acknowledge the good links between the two settings.

There was a cheery atmosphere in the afternoon and it was lovely to see so many parent, grandparents, extended family members and people in the community in the school. Staff and pupils always enjoy Open Afternoons as it gives us an opportunity to show off the super work by pupils in school. Primary classes and some secondary classes had their work on display about Best of British Topics, art displays and some excellent work about King Charles and the Coronation itself.

We also had up photos of and questions we are planning to ask a former pupil who has recently passed out in the Household Cavalry and was involved in the Kings Coronation.

Our staff prepared a delicious spread of sandwiches, cakes and fancies for Afternoon teas in the canteen and Primary 7 pupils had a few tabletop games to raise money for their overnight stay to Voxter in June. It was a busy afternoon and there was a worry that we would run out of food!

The Primary Pupil Council suggested that some of the money raised should go to Charity, which will be decided at the next meeting.

The staff at Whalsay School would like to thank everybody who helped organise, took part and supported our Coronation celebrations.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back again soon.

If you attended the event and would like to leave feedback, please click on the link below

https://forms.office.com/e/QWGHkEfrLH

May 16, 2023
by User deactivated
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YPI Group Collection for Shetland Food Bank

For our YPI project, our group has decided to collect donations for the foodbank. We have provided a box in the Whalsay secondary school for any donations towards the foodbank. The box will be in the porch of the secondary school from the 16th of May to the 25th of May. The foodbank is currently asking for breakfast cereals, UHT milk, spaghetti hoops, tinned or instant mashed potatoes and jam. The foodbank has plenty of pasta, soup and tea bags. The foodbank cannot accept any fresh foods unless they are tinned (bread, fruit/veg, meat, cheese etc.) please consider making a donation towards our cause over the coming week.

Aaron, Carla, Poppy and Summer

May 1, 2023
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S3 YPI Group Bake Sale for Clan Cancer Relief

One of our S3 YPI groups is doing a Bake Sale to raise money for Clan Cancer Relief. You can find more information about this below:

April 28, 2023
by Mrs Irvine
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Glasgow Science Centre Visit

Today we welcomed visitors from the Glasgow Science Centre to the Primary department. The day began with a ‘Journey through my Body’ show for Primary 1-4 followed by a ‘Disgusting Digestion’ show for P5-7. Both shows were lots of fun and had the pupils engaged and actively participating as they learned about the journey of food through their bodies. Some of the activities left the pupils feeling a bit squeamish but it was Miss Hutchison and Miss Paterson who pulled the short straw as they were chosen to experience what happens as the food leaves our bodies!

Following the shows each class had a chance to visit the Bodyworks Exhibits which included: testing the strength of your grip; testing your balance; learning about the muscles in your arms and legs; flexibility; breathing and several more. Each station was highly interactive and the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learning more about our bodies. We are grateful to the Glasgow Science Centre for making the trip across to finish off their week in Shetland.

April 28, 2023
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Engineering Skills (Wider Achievement)

In wider achievement this term we have been making a washing machine into a firepit. The process we went through was:

1 we watched a video on you tube to see how to get the drum out.

2 we had to take apart the washing machine.

3 then got the drum out

4 and had to mark the leg holes to bolt them in to the drum.

The skills I developed were:

1 team work

2 working with new tools i had not worked with before

Skills I would like to work on more are drilling holes more accurately.

I enjoyed doing this. It was to make something we my friends.

Mason, S1

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)