Christmas Concert

Science experiment (by the Upper Primary)

Science experiment report

This term our topic is food in Upper Primary. So far we have been looking up foods from different places in the world. We’ve also been looking at labels on food packaging and learning about nutrition and the human body. For homework we each got given a food area like fat and vitamins. Then we had to make a poster about it.

 

On Wednesday 3^rd December we went into Mrs Rose’s science lab. We were doing a science experiment on how many calories are in the food.

Mrs Rose, who is our science teacher, kindly let us into her science lab to burn some food for our food topic. She told us what we needed to get and lots of other stuff. She gave us safety instructions like how to light the Bunsen burner. We burnt 3 types of food (e.g. spaghetti, prawn crackers etc.) to find out how much energy was in the food. We burnt the food to see how much the temperature of the water in the test tube rose. We recorded it on our result tables to find out what food had the most energy.

The burning food made a lot of smoke which set off the fire alarm twice in five minutes. We didn’t get our final results properly because of the fire alarm going off.

We thought it was fun and we learned how to measure energy in calories without using the label. We learned how to set up and use equipment safely.

We would like to thank Mrs Rose for letting us use the science lab.

 

 

Book Fair at the Stronsay School

Book Fair! By Upper Primary

In November Lewis, Mikey, John, Philip and Erik started to plan the book fair.

Philip and John made a treasure hunt with riddles.

Mikey made a guess who? He had to crop pictures of a book character and print it out. We made quizzes and we organised a raffle. Erik made some decorations and he had to blow up balloons for decorating. We did some posters for the book fair. Gaynor made 2 cakes.

Parents and Community were invited to the book fair on Friday 28^th November. There were loads and loads of books as well as stationery and posters at the book fair. Everyone liked the treasure hunt, guess who and the free raffle etc. The pupils also got to come to school in their pyjamas. At the kitchen Arna and Wilma were handing out hot chocolate, cookies, tea, coffee and juice. We all thought it was fabulous. Fraser thought it was “epicabulous” and Elizabeth thought it was “AMAZING”. The total amount raised was a whopping £560.36. Stronsay school will receive 40% commission for new books in the library. We would like to thank everyone who was involved in the book fair and those who came and helped us make lots of money.

 

 



 

 

The Stronsay School raises £50.00 for Christmas Jumper Day!

     The Stronsay School pupils and staff have raised £50.00 for Christmas Jumper Day!

What's on this week? (15/12/2014)

Christmas Jumper Day 2014

Dear Parent/Carer,
On Friday 12 December we’re inviting all pupils to take part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day.
Everyone will be asked to wear their silliest, sparkliest or cosiest Christmas woollies and make a donation of £1, or whatever they can give, to help save children’s lives around the world. If your child doesn’t have a festive sweater already, just dig out a plain jumper and decorate it with tinsel, baubles or homemade snowflakes.
This year, there’ll be double the jumper joy as the UK government has pledged to match every pound you give to Save the Children over Christmas – effectively doubling your support. What better reason could there be to join in?
You can also visit the event website at: 
 www.christmasjumperday.org 
and learn more about Save the Children at:
www.savethechildren.org.uk.
We’d really appreciate your help to make Christmas Jumper Day a huge success.
With your support we’re looking forward to a woolly fun day!
With thanks and best wishes,

Mrs Evans

Staffing news!

We're glad to announce that Miss Deavin will be starting her role as English/Support for Learning teacher from 5th January 2015.

In the Upper Primary, Lauren Copland will be covering from January till March on Monday and Tuesday and Mairi will cover the rest of the week.

What's on this week? (8/12/2014)

What's on this week? (1/12/2014)

Festive mood in the Lower Primary!

A short clip of the Lower Primary children making their Advent calendar...

 

What's on this week? (24/11/2014)

Updated 23/11

What's on this week? (17/11/2014)

Bringing the Harvest Home

Created by Sonya, Erynn and Ben.

We were going to present this piece of work at the Harvest Festival, but with no electricity we couldn’t. So we thought we would show it to you.

In Geography we have been learning about the environment and how man has been using the earth. We decided in class that man was using the earth badly. One example is pollution caused by planes.
For example we buy food from other countries which they harvest. This food then travels here by plane and is causing pollution. If people grew their own food it would decrease the pollution in the atmosphere.
By Charlie

Food miles
A food mile is the distance a plane or boat travels to get our food to our homes.
By Ben

Investigation
I am going to describe what we did for homework.
For our homework we had to look at our food at home and try to find where it came from.
We had to look very carefully at the label some of the food didn’t tell us where it came from.
We made a list of 20 foods.
We chose 5 foods from our list and we worked out our distances using an atlas. Then Jasmine made a power point about it. We hope you enjoy it.
By Sonya

Conclusion
 We found out from this investigation… 

• Erynn was the eco-friendly queen, her food mile total was 474 for her 5 foods chosen from 20. Most of her foods were locally produced. 
• Jasmine was the least eco-friendly, her food mile total 37,500 chosen from her five foods! I wouldn’t like to hear what her total was from the 20. 
• The furthest away food brought to Orkney was the creamed coconut from Indonesia, it travelled 17,100 miles. The closest food was Rhubarb from Sonya and Jasmine's garden.

Five foods + 1.pptx

Remembrance Day at the Stronsay School

...

Internet still down...

The Internet is still down at the Stronsay School. Please phone in if you need to get in touch.
(Updated on 12/11/2014)

Plans for the Stronsay School Outdoor Play Area:

School Internet down!

Message from the school:

The school’s internet is down this week and most likely will not be repaired until next week.

 If you wish to contact the school please phone.

 

Winter Newsletter

Winter_Newsletter_2014-15.pdf

What's on this week? (03/11/2014)

What's on this week? (27/10/2014)

What's on this week? (06/10/2014)

Fidgety Fish - The Movie (by the Lower Primary pupils)

Lower primary made this animation during the week that celebrated Global Maritime Day.  Mrs. Evans chose it because it was set at sea!  It was a chance to use lots of technology: cameras, microphones and Moviemaker software. 

We designed our own characters and used fabric, paper, ribbons to decorate the sea setting.  Lower Primary’s favourite bit was when Fidgety Fish does the loop the loop; we used cotton wool balls for the bubbles.

We worked together to move the characters; Amber explains that if “we move stuff and change different things a little bit it would look like it was moving.”  Lower Primary were also very good at taking turns and helping each other.  

We made different mouths for Tiddler’s mum, to make her look as though she was talking.  Dan liked the way we made it funny, “like The Big Fish burping!” and his tummy rumbling about by moving the spots around. 

We had a great time making this film and we hope you enjoy watching it!

The Lower Primary class

New timetable (Sept.2014)

Click here to zoom in.

Updated 2/10/2014

What's on this week (29/09/2014)

Maritime World Day (25/09/2014)

 

 

Today, we have celebrated World Maritime Day.
The pupils have worked in teams which have been made up of children and young adults across the school. They have developed their knowledge and skills in navigation, knot tying, the role of Scapa Flow in WW1 and WW2, the scuttling of the Fleet and the sinking of the Royal Oak. They have also developed their coordination skills through a battleship activity and undertaken a music quiz. Finally, they have learnt about the St Kilda mailboat, having seen a replica which was launched at St Kilda  and found by Neil Carter after it landed on Papa Stronsay .
It has been a real pleasure  to see the whole school working effectively in teams and reinforces to me the wonderful relationship between the pupils with such a wide age range. A truly unique experience!

Mr King

 

 

...

What's on this week (22/09/2014)

Printable Holiday Calendar (2015-2018)

Holiday Printable Calendar 2015-2018.xls

What's on this week - 15/09/2014

Ice Bucket Challenge (1st Sept. 2014)

The Ice Bucket Challenge 
at the 
Stronsay School raised  
£36.43!

Safe Islander Event in KGS

On Thursday 4th September, our S1 and S2 pupils travelled to Kirkwall to attend the "Safe Islander" event in KGS.

Eight organisations took part in the event whose objectives were to make youngsters more aware of the dangers surrounding them in everyday circumstances:

•  Casey Construction  (construction site safety)
• Scottish Agricultural College (farm safety)
• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (fire safety)
• Police Scotland (e-safety)
•  Scottish and Southern Energy (safety around electricity)
•  RNLI (sea safety)
•  Orkney Drugs and Alcohol Partnership (alcohol issues)
• SEPA 

What's on this week - 8/09/2014

S4 Parent information - Term 1

Dear Parents/Carers

Please see below some of the key topics your son/daughter will be studying during this term.

If you would like further information on any of the following, please contact the individual teacher at the school.

S4 English – Term 1  

They are doing the National 5 course this year. Much of the work is internally assessed over the year and in May 2015, if they have passed the internal tests, they will sit the exam. The breakdown of the final mark is as follows: 30% writing, two pieces done at home/in class over the year and externally marked 40% literature exam, externally marked : (1) a critical essay based on literature read in class - 20% (2) questions on a Scottish set text studied in class - 20% 30% close reading comprehension exam, externally marked Until October we are working at completing the Scottish set text part of the course. We are studying six set poems by Edwin Morgan which they will be examined on for 20% of their final mark. They will be expected to do an hour's homework a week.


S4 Maths – Term 1

 
Common Factors
Using the distributive law

Factorising

Simplifying

Solving Equations
Evaluating an expression

Calculations in context

　
Number Patterns
Sequences and patterns

Extending number patterns

Well-known sequences
Nth term


Gradient
Gradients in real life

Comparing gradients

Calculating gradients using a coordinate

Grid

Parallel lines

Area and Circumference of Circles
The circle.

Relationship C and D.

Finding the diameter or radius

Calculating area.

Area of kite, parallelogram and trapezium
Area of a parallelogram

Area of a triangle

Area of a kite

Area of a trapezium

Calculating Surface Area
Describing prisms

Nets of prisms

　
Surface area of a prism

Efficient use of materials


S4 Biology – Term 1

Assessment of unit 1 – Cell structure

Multicellular Organisms

Mandatory Course key areas

1 Cells, tissues and organs

Specialisation of cells, in animals and plants, leads to the formation of a variety of tissues and organs.

2 Stem cells and meristems

a. Stem cells in animals can divide and have the potential to become different types of cell. Stem cells are involved in growth and repair.

b. Meristems are the sites of production of non-specialised cells in plants and are the sites for mitosis in a plant. These cells have the potential to become other types of plant cell and they contribute to plant growth.

3 Control and Communication

a. Nervous control Nervous control in animals, including structure and function of central nervous system (CNS) and the brain, to include:

cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla.

b. Rapid reflex action and reflex arc: sensory, relay and motor neurons. Receptors detect sensory input/stimuli. Electrical impulses

carry messages along neurons. A synapse occurs between neurons. Chemicals transfer these messages across synapses.

c. Hormonal control including: Endocrine glands release hormones into the blood stream. Hormones are chemical messengers. Target tissues have cells with receptor proteins for hormones, so only some tissues are affected by specific hormones.

d. Blood glucose regulation including the role of insulin, glucagon, glycogen, pancreas and liver.

S4 Chemistry – Term 1

Assessment of unit 1 – Chemical changes and structure

Nature’s Chemistry
Mandatory Course key areas
Homologous series
The study of cycloalkanes and branched chain alkanes and alkenes (up to C8).To include their physical, chemical properties, general formulae, systematic names, structural formulae, uses, reactions and isomers. Reactions —combustion and addition.
Everyday consumer products
Uses of alcohols and carboxylic acids: to include their physical, chemical properties. For straight chain alcohols and carboxylic acids (C1–C8) general formulae, systematic naming, structural formulae. Functional groups in alcohols, carboxylic acids and esters.Manufacture of esters as a use of alcohols and carboxylic acids and .Uses of esters.
Energy from fuels
Energy calculations involving Eh = cmΔT

(There is no requirement to calculate enthalpy per mole.) Calculations based on balanced equations

S4 French – Term 1


Finish LES ETUDES (Talking about school and your future career)

MA VIE: My Life

• Relationships with parents, brothers, sisters and friends: how do you get on with your family – What are you allowed and not allowed to do – Household chores.
• Hobbies – Sports -
• Health – Advantages of a healthy lifestyle – Dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle

S4 RMPS – Term 1

S4 will study Animism this term.


S4 PSE – Term 1

At the beginning of this new academic year, all secondary pupils will be taking part in discussions which will inform their programme of study for the year. The focus for learning will be around the individual’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. The programme this term will include work on:

• Study skills
• Target setting
• Reflecting on their own learning and using learning logs as a tool for personal development
• Social wellbeing and positive thinking

S3/4 Health and Food Technology Term 1

 This term S3/4 will be studying the National 5 unit Food for Health. We have already begun to look at the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) and will move on to look in detail at some of the vitamins and minerals required for a healthy balanced diet. We will then begin to consider diet through life; which involves looking at the nutritional requirements of each life stage from babies to the elderly. This theory work will be reinforced with practical experiences that involve producing food to meet specific requirements.

S4 Geography – Term 1  

During this Term students will be involved in the study of the following topics:

• Rural Geography
• Changes in the rural landscape in developed countries related to modern developments in farming including diversification, impact of new technology, organic farming, genetically modified crops & government policy.
• Changes in the rural landscape in developing countries related to modern developments in farming such as genetically modified crops, impact of new technology, bio- fuels.
• National 4 Value Added Unit.
• Individual Project

S4 History – Term 1


During this Term students will be involved in the study of the following topics:

• The North Atlantic Slave Trade.
• Reasons for the growth of the North Atlantic Slave Trade.
• The Trade Triangle.
• Slave factories.
• The Middle Passage.
• How did the North Atlantic Slave Trade affect Britain?
• Captives experience & Slave Resistance.

 S4 Art – Term 1

S4 will be continuing working on the Expressive Unit of the National 4 course. This includes drawing individual Still Life objects using a variety of media, beginning to create compositions and examining and discussing the work of relevant artists.

Context for learning: Investigating the work of artists including Wayne Thiebaud and Audrey Flack to inspire and inform own artwork.

Approaches to learning: Opportunities to further explore individual areas of interest within Art and Design through taught lessons and independent work. Practical art making informed by and linked to critical work

S3 Parent information - Term 1

 

Dear Parents/Carers

Please see below some of the key topics your son/daughter will be studying during this term.

If you would like further information on any of the following, please contact the individual teacher at the school.

S3 English – Term 1

They are starting the National 5 course this year. Much of the work is internally assessed over the two year period and in May 2016, if they have passed the internal tests, they will sit the exam. The breakdown of the final mark is as follows: 30% writing, two pieces done at home/in class over the two years and externally marked 40% literature exam, externally marked : (1) a critical essay based on literature read in class - 20% (2) questions on a Scottish set text studied in class - 20% 30% close reading comprehension exam, externally marked Until October we will be doing an intensive novel study, based on John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men". We will also be working on developing comprehension and writing skills. They will be expected to do an hour's homework a week.

S3 Maths – Term 1 

 Estimation and rounding: Rounding and accuracy, upper and lower boundaries, effects of rounding, tolerance

Powers and Roots: powers, roots, using a calculator

Scientific Notation very small, very large, using a calculator

Fractions, percentages and decimals: Recurring decimals, equivalences, mental percentages, choosing most suitable method, using a calculator, increase and decrease

Financial Skills 1: credit and debt, credit cards; gross and net pay, income tax

Pythagoras: Right-angled triangles, Pythagoras‟ theorem, calculating size of lengths, converse Pythagoras‟ theorem

Circle 1: circle terms, circumference, diameter, radius calculations

Statistics 1: Reading bar, pie and line graphs Finding Mean Median Mode Range

Proportion: revision of fractions; adding subtracting, multiplying and mixed numbers

proportion:Direct, inverse, graphs and constant

Similar Shapes: congruent shapes, similar triangles areas of similar shapes and scale factors


S3 Biology – Term 1

 Cell Biology

Transport across cell membranes
a. The cell membrane consists of lipids and proteins and is selectively permeable.

b. Passive transport is along a concentration gradient and does not require energy.

c. Diffusion in cells as the movement of molecules down a concentration gradient.

d. Osmosis as the movement of water molecules across a membrane in terms of

water concentration.

e. Animal cells can burst or shrink and plant cells can become turgid or plasmolysed in different solutions.

f. Active transport requires energy for membrane proteins to move molecules and ions against the concentration gradient.
Completion of Practical assessment1: Transport across Cell Membranes, Osmosis (National 5)

Completion of Short report assessment2: Transport across Cell Membranes, Osmosis (National 5) „Sports drinks and rehydration‟


S3 Chemistry – Term 1

Chemical Changes and Structure

Mandatory Course key areas
Rates of reaction
Average rate of reaction calculated from graph to show change in rate of reaction as reaction progresses.
Completion of Practical assessment 1: Calculating rates of reaction (National 5)




Atomic structure and bonding related to properties of materials

• Nuclide notation including: Isotopes and relative atomic mass, Ions, and Ionic bonding.
• Covalent molecular including: covalent network and ionic lattices.
• Physical properties of chemicals explained through bonding.
• Chemical and ionic formulae including: group ions.

S3 Physics – Term 1

Physics will focus on waves and radiation this term, with the hope that the end of topic test will occur just prior to the October break.

 S3 French – Term 1


LES ETUDES (Talking about school and your future career)

• Talking about the timetable and your subjects, describing your school and the buildings, talking about the rules and regulations, plans for the future, discussing difficulties at school.
• Revision of how to say the time in French.
• Grammar: the Perfect Tense, expressing "since" in French.
• -ER- verbs, FAIRE & ALLER.
• Expressing the near-future: ALLER + infinitive.

S3 RMPS – Term 1

This term, S3 pupils will study Christianity.

PSE – Term 1

At the beginning of this new academic year, all secondary pupils will be taking part in discussions which will inform their programme of study for the year. The focus for learning will be around the individual's mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. The programme this term will include work on:

• Study skills
• Target setting
• Reflecting on their own learning and using learning logs as a tool for personal development
• Social wellbeing and positive thinking

S3 Practical Woodworking – Term 1

Flat frame construction.
This will include: measuring, marking out, use of tools and techniques to produce a range of flat frame joints.

Pupils will read drawings to produce a cutting list in preparation for manufacturing a flat frame.

They will also be measuring, marking out, using tools and techniques to produce a flat frame.

Health and Food Technology S3 – Term 1
 
This term S3/4 will be studying the National 5 unit Food for Health. We have already begun to look at the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) and will move on to look in detail at some of the vitamins and minerals required for a healthy balanced diet. We will then begin to consider diet through life; which involves looking at the nutritional requirements of each life stage from babies to the elderly. This theory work will be reinforced with practical experiences that involve producing food to meet specific requirements.

Music Term 1

S3 – Scottish Music/Solo Performing   This term the S3 class will be studying Scottish music at National 4/5 level. The main unit will be Listening and Understanding which aims to enrich the pupil with many concepts relating to Scottish music. These take the form of Melody/Harmony, Rhythm/Tempo, Structure/Texture/Form, Styles and Timbre. There will be an aural test at the end of this unit covering all concepts learned at this level. Pupils will also undertake some composing, and this will usually take the form of writing a Reel, Waltz or Slow Air. Pupils are encouraged to perform their own compositions.

Pupils will also be continuing their studies in Performance. Pupils will regularly practise on two instruments and this will culminate in a performance day where pupils will perform to each other/teachers. They will self-reflect on their performance highlighting areas for improvement together with aspects they thought went well.

S3 Geography– Term 1

During this Term students will be involved in the study of the following topics:

• Glaciation.
• Map Skills: basic map skills recap, recognition of glacial features & land uses on O.S maps.
• Land use conflicts in an upland glacial environment.
• Coasts.
• The Scottish Coastline.
• Waves.
• Coastal erosion and features of coastal erosion.
• Coastal deposition and features of coastal deposition.
• Human activity along the coastline.

S3 History – Term 1


During this Term students will be involved in the study of the following topics:

• The North Atlantic Slave Trade.
• Reasons for the growth of the North Atlantic Slave Trade.
• The Trade Triangle.
• Slave factories.
• The Middle Passage.
• How did the North Atlantic Slave Trade affect Britain?
• Captives experience & Slave Resistance.

S3 Art – Term 1

S3 will be investigating the built environment and structure of buildings, beginning by drawing and taking photos of interesting details around the school building, using mark making techniques and rubbings to explore textures and materials. Looking at well-known buildings in Orkney including St Magnus Cathedral, Earls and Bishops Palace, Italian Chapel etc.

They will make initial observational sketches both in class and at home to inform a final large-scale painting or series or work. Experimenting with scale and different techniques, to represent buildings, including printing, cut paper collage and ink drawing.

Context for learning: Investigating work of artist John Virtue, focusing on his London paintings. Looking at subject matter, limited colour scheme, media and technique.

Approaches to learning: Active learning, opportunities to work both individually and as part of a group, both taught lessons and independent work. Practical art making informed by and linked to critical work