Primary 1-4 Class:

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend; sadly the weather has not been wonderful, but hopefully you all managed

to relax and get outside a little. There have been so many pictures this week. Apologies if I have not used them all!

We have all got going after our short break– many of you working diligently on your “time” focus. It reminds me of a

poem about teaching time to young children – and of course it’s by Allan Ahlberg!

Maths: Miryam was one of the first to make her little clock – well done Miryam! You can use it for solving some

time problems! Katie is busy using her house clock – plus some stickers to help her tell the time.

The Infants Do an Assembly about Time:

The Infants do an Assembly about Time.

It has the past, the present and the future in it;

The seasons, a digital watch,

And a six year-old little old lady.

She gets her six year old family up

And directs them through the twenty four hours of the day:

Out of bed – and – shortly after – back into it.

(Life does not stand still in infant assemblies.)

The whole thing lasts for fifteen minutes.

Next week (space permitting): Space!

Finlay and Margaret have both worked hard on their Maths work. Margaret has been counting pairs of things. Belle

and Penny have also completed their time work via Education City – well done, girls! Anne Marie has also shared

some time keeping!

Margaret has been learning number words and is telling the time using O’clock, while Finlay is busy using 15 minute

intervals.

I know some of you have really

enjoyed working on time this week.

Riley certainly has – so much so he

has made this enormous grandfather

clock to help him tell the time -I

believe with some help from

Grandpa!

...And here’s another super effort!

Cameron has been counting up the

time with this huge clock he has

made – well done both boys!

Literacy: Thank you to all those children sharing their literacy work this week. It is great to see you all working on

your spellings, comprehensions and grammar! Here’s Margaret’s “magic e.” This is always a really tricky thing to

learn – you have taken the bull by the horns, Margaret! Finlay has worked on his spellings!

Penny has been ordering different words to make sentences – great work! I do happen to know how hard Belle has

tried with her tricky words this week. Belle’s mum sent me a lovely video of her trying hard. Unfortunately I cannot

upload to the blog page – but never mind – here is a lovely photo of Belle with her tricky words up so she can see

them for her daily work – and another try on the whiteboard. Well done, Belle! Katie has taken the opportunity to

work on her handwriting skills – super! Anne Marie has been working on adjectives and her comprehension – thank

you for sharing all of you.

Here’s Rosie busy working on telling the

time! Is that a very colourful clock you

have made there Rosie? It looks as if it is

helping you with all your time problems!

Margaret is busy working on upper and lower case letters and “magic e” while Finlay is working on adjectives. Rosie

has got to grips with the online platforms and is working on her spellings too! It’s 10/10 this week for Belle and

Penny’s spellings!

V.E. Day Celebrations:

Some of you took part in V.E. (Victory in Europe) day celebrations last Friday. This is such an important thing for us to

remember. It marks the end of World War II in Europe on 8th May 1945, when the Nazi forces officially surrendered

to the Allies. Some of you may have seen street parties on the news, showing lots of people singing and sharing this

important historical event. Margaret and Finlay watched a power point about VE day. They made some cupcakes to

participate in their own celebration of this event.

The finished cupcakes look delicious don’t they? Margaret has been growing some flowers for the residents of Harris

House too. What a lovely way to remember times gone by.... The day itself looked to be a marvellous celecration! It

has been a very interesting topic for the whole family to get involved in – and a very practical way to learn about the

past.

Funnybones:

I wondered how the life size skeleton was getting on! He’s come on a bit since we last saw him! Finlay has also been

making his own skeleton model – well done!

Arts and Crafts:

Anne Marie has been very busy this week doing one of her favourite things – designing and making! Anne Marie has

just begun to learn how to cross stitch. Here she is working on her very first piece. Don’t forget to share it with us,

Anne Marie, when it’s finished – it looks super! I love the idea of a sketch book where you can experiment with

different mediums – this is an excellent effort, Anne Marie! I always miss receiving one of your lovely art pieces – my

school desk will be looking pretty bare at the moment!

Health and Fitness:

Cameron continues to follow Joe Wicks every week! Joe does a Fancy Dress Friday – here’s Cameron in his full army

costume! I know Cameron enjoys getting outside – you picked a good day for hillwalking Cameron – what a view!

Ruth sent me a lovely picture of what I think could be a little greenfinch outside her kitchen window. You do have to

look very carefully to see it though! And here’s a little nest in the trunk of a tree – spotted on an outdoor walk!

Rosie and Archie walked to Mac An Stronaich’s cave (the famous outlaw from the 1800s) with a picnic! Here’s Rosie

with Lexi the dog watching her mum cut the peats – that’s the spirit, Rosie!

Finlay’s interpretation of the Eiffel Tower, Finlay and Margaret’s

artwork inspired by Deadly 60 on CBBC.

...Here’s Rosie with her super Funnybones puppet – and I have seen

her on video showing us how it operates – well done, Rosie!

I am delighted to announce that Rosie Morrison has joined STV weather presenter, Sean Batty’s Mini Met Team!

They have to send in any weather news from the Isle of Harris. Rosie’s astonishment at seeing snow here a few days

ago, led to her going on STV Weather – well done Rosie! We are delighted with your achievement!

French:

Week two of French for Margaret and Finlay! They have been using the online resource to try and master another

language - you can see what they have learned to do this week!

...and finally

I thought I would add a lovely message received from our School Chaplain this week!

To all the pupils at Sir E Scott,

I am very grateful to Mrs Macsween for giving me the opportunity to write to you at this time. It has been a difficult

few weeks for all of us in the school, whether school pupils, staff or parents. However, I wanted to say how much I am

thinking of and praying for you all and hoping that it will not be too long until you are back in school once again. It is

strange and challenging for the teachers to be teaching and working just now in a school with no pupils. Likewise, it

is difficult for yourselves as pupils to be working from home and not seeing your friends. It is hard for your parents

and carers to juggle everything at this time too. Maybe this has made us appreciate our friends more, and shown us

also what is truly important in our lives.

We are all sad and sorry that the school year has ended in such a strange way. This has interrupted not only school

work and exams but has also affected every other aspect of life in the school and after school activities and clubs too.

As you will be aware, at this time of year, there are usually many things happening at the school. The school sports

would normally be taking place just now. A little later, the local Mod, Prom and leavers Assembly would usually take

place. However, as we know sadly due to the Coronavirus, none of these things can happen now.

No matter how hard it is to accept these things, we have to remember that we are very fortunate and blessed here in

Harris and Lewis. Despite everything being so different now, we have many reasons to be thankful. We are in

probably the best and safest place in the country, and if we have to be in Lockdown, there is nowhere better than the

islands to be right now.

I know how difficult it is to work from home ( I do it every day!), and it can at times be so difficult to get motivated to

get that work done. Yet the work must go on and so I would encourage you to work hard even in the difficult

circumstances we face. The school and the teachers have and are doing an excellent job of giving you the life skills

you will all need for College, University or the world of work. One of the skills that we all have an opportunity to

develop in these weeks is self-discipline. This is essentially the skill of motivating ourselves to work and keep on

working because we believe it will be worth it.

In the Bible, we are shown that:

"God does not make us afraid but gives us power, love and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7) This self-discipline is so

important. The school have given you the tools and the help to do the work and achieve success. But the hard work

still needs to be done. It may be in some ways harder to work at home, as it is so much easier at home than in school

to be distracted by devices, social media and even good weather! However, in the Bible, we learn how important it is

to be self-disciplined. One of Jesus' followers Paul describes how necessary self-discipline or self-control is. He

compares himself to a runner, focused and motivated in competing in a race when he says;

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win

the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ( Philippians 3: 14)

We are all privileged to be part of Sir E Scott school, a truly fantastic school. We look forward to being able to meet

together in the school again, but we remember that we are still part of Sir E Scott school at home too. Although things

are very different for us all, both now and in the times to come, I hope that you will all stay safe and well during this

time. Get in touch if I can help you or pray for you. Please do not be anxious during these difficult days; we are all

here to help you.

With every good wish to you all

Ian Murdo Macdonald

Have a great weekend, everyone!