Meldrum Primary School Blog

Representatives from our Think Tank met with Mrs Stewart and P7 pupils from Bankton Primary School today to discuss how we could help each other improve the life of the school.  The children raised very thought provoking questions and gave us lots of food for thought.  We hope to visit the children at Bankton Primary in the final term to share more information.

Think Tank from Meldrum and Bankton Primary

Following on from National Safer Internet Day, I hope you found the information posted helpful.  Please find another link for advice on safe internet use by your child.

Safe Sites for use by children

I would like to remind you that the picking up and setting down of children in the school car park is prohibited.  This is a matter of great importance and we need your support to keep all our children safe.

Recently, there have been some tragic high profile incidents involving young people being struck by vehicles.  Within the last month, there have also been issues around schools in which vehicles have been parked irresponsibility or in which drivers have reversed into pedestrians, some of them children, causing injury.  This will continue to have a high profile in our school with the support of our Junior Road Safety Officers.

You will find some helpful advice on the link below.

Road Safety advice

The number of devices that can access the internet grows year on year. Regardless of the type of hardware you use to surf the Web, browsing online will always carry a risk that your machine will pick up malicious or unwanted software.

Microsoft defines malware (malicious software) as: ‘any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network’, and includes Trojans, viruses, and spyware.

Combatting malware is a complex and rapidly changing field in the world of IT, but the good news for is that protecting the devices you have at home can be both simple and cheap.

The most popular anti-virus and anti-malware packages offer basic, free to use versions that are easy to control, and provide adequate protection for the average home user.

While most people are aware of the need to use security software on PCs and laptops, many still leave smartphones and tablets unprotected. For more information see: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/free-anti-virus-software

A reminder that this Friday 12 February, you are invited to the new Bathgate Cinema, St. David’s, George Street, where industry experts will offer practical advice on parental control settings for different devices. There will also be the opportunity to see the first ever big screen-screen showing of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) internet safety films that your children see in school.

This event is free to enter, and open to everyone, so why not invite family and friends along? For more info see www.westlothian.gov.uk/saferinternet

Remember to visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents for additional support and advice.

Let’s get cooking!

First spread tomato sauce and then shake the cheese all over.

The toppings were delicious.

Ready for the oven.

Waiting for them to cook in the oven.

And waiting….

Enjoy!

Our thanks to the lovely staff who were so generous and told us all about their jobs.

All of the popular fixed gaming consoles – and many mobile gaming devices – now connect to the internet. This can allow gamers to interact with others across the globe, allowing exciting opportunities for collaborative and competitive play. However, it can also lead to problems with harassment and bullying, exposure to age inappropriate material, and grooming.

Parental controls can be used to manage:

* the type of interactions permitted through the games console, including:

* the text messages and photos that can be sent and received

* the age ratings of games that can be played and downloaded

* the nature of the video content that can be accessed from the internet For more advice see: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-gaming-stay-safe-avoid-risks/

Twitter – see the WLC Facebook page for more information on how to approach this delicate subject

Facebook

Sharing nude or nearly nude selfies is commonly known as sexting. Young people may see this behaviour as normal, and not be aware of the dangers of losing control of an image once it is posted online.

Many young people are also unaware of the potentially criminal consequences for sharing indecent images. Beyond the legal issues, being associated with such material can also have a far reaching impact on future education and employment opportunities.

However, the message: ‘what goes online, stays online’ does not tell the whole story. While it can be very difficult to get images that have been copied and shared many times over entirely removed from the Web, it is still worth seeking help in the event that a child you care for has made a mistake with sexting.

All of the major social media companies have a policy of removing indecent images from their platforms, and the Police can take action against those distributing images of minors.

See: Think U know and Parent Info for more guidance on sexting, and how to deal with it.

Coinciding nicely with our assembly on ambitions, P5 along with P4, P6 and P7 had the opportunity to meet with some parents at the careers fair and find out about their different jobs. We were challenged to match the jobs with the clues given, and then were able to ask the parents questions we had prepared. We gained lots of interesting knowledge and insight, and the experience inspired new potential careers for some pupils!

Below is the video from P5’s ambitions assembly, well done to the whole class who worked hard to create the interviews and perform in front of the school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpEhZc3P6KE