Get 'Reddy' for Sport Relief 16.3.18

Sciennes 'Reddy' for Sport Relief Be Kind to Others 16.3.18 from Sciennes Primary School
 

On Friday 16th March we got 'reddy' for Sport Relief 2018, continuing our focus on "Be Kind to Others" from City of Edinburgh's "Be Resilient' Health and Wellbeing programme.

We watched two video clips showing how money raised has been used abroad and in the UK and sang the 'Step It Up" song. P7s led at the front to demonstrate dance moves and encourage everyone to sing along.

P7 Sports Captains have been selling Sport Relief wrist bands for £1 and on Friday 23rd March pupils can wear red or sports clothes and bring a donation if they wish. P7 Emily and her friends have arranged a Bake Sale for 12pm Friday 16th March in aid of Sport Relief.

P7 Isaac gave an update on his 'Marathon in a Month' for Asthma UK with brother Reuben. P7 pupils Niamh, Alice, Stella and Margret shared their idea to help a new P6 group carry on their gender equality projects next year and have designed their own application forms. P6 pupils Rory, Isla, Ella and Evie reminded everyone about their Easter Egg Foodbank appeal which closes on Friday 23rd March and they will man stalls at both Parent Consultation Evenings.

What a wonderful P4/5 disco and many thanks to families and staff who came along to support.

P7 Captains congratulated P7 Lucy on her Grade 4 Musical Theatre certificate, P6 William on his First Place at the recent Edinburgh Music Competition Festival and P6 Machlan on becoming SCOTTISH boxing champion!

Hannah in P6 gave a stunning performance of Tam O'Shanter which won her the Steven Lui Cup 2018 for Burns Recitation. There were six extremely strong P6 Finalists this year and congratulations to all who took part.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Be Kind 9.3.18

Sciennes Be Kind 9.3.18 from Sciennes Primary School
 

On Friday 9th March we continued with our 'Be Kind to Others' topic from City of Edinburgh's Health and Wellbeing 'Be Resilient' programme. Pupils from P4 and P6 shared their learning on the topic and gave examples of acts of kindness.

We welcomed Austrian Primary Education students Elisabeth and Daniela and bade fond farewell to Erasmus French teaching student Elodie (from Lyons) and Erasmus Spanish trainee teacher Adriano (from Madrid University) thanking them for all their tremendous support at school.

Our P7 House and Sports Captains have been busily working for several weeks with the Fiona Denvir, Bethan McEwan and Cathy McCormack from the Parent Council to redesign and plan our annual school fundraising events. P7 Captains Flora, Caspar and James introduced their new logo and explained their ideas for P1-4 to continue to take part in a Swimathon, while P5-P7 will take part in a new 'Meadows Mayhem' obstacle course.

P7 pupil Isaac updated us on his 'Marathon in a Month' campaign with brother Reuben to raise awareness and funds for Asthma UK and explained how others can take part, to raise funds for Asthma UK, or for Sport Relief or simply just to participate.

Emily and friends in P7 told everyone about their Sport Relief Bake Sale on Friday 16th March at 12pm in the playground and P7 Sports Captains will continue to sell wristbands for £1.

Alice, Niamh and Margret talked about International Women's Day and updated everyone on their P1 and P2 survey about gender equality. P2 pupils and Girl Guides Penny and Catriona were congratulated on their launch of the Citizen Girl campaign.

P6 pupils Rory, Isla, Ellie and Evie promoted their annual Easter Egg Foodbank Appeal running from 12th - 23rd March. There will be an opportunity to donate eggs at Parent Consultations on Tuesday 20th and Thursday 22nd March.

What a wonderful P6/7 Disco!

P6/7 Cross Country were congratulated on their participation in the recent EPSSA event at the Meadows where P6 Anna and P6 Dylan both received a 4th place medal.

Huge congratulations to Sean, Evie, Katharine and Tomos on their outstanding success at the recent Edinburgh Semi Final of Euroquiz, as Runners Up, only one point behind eventual winners Stewart Melville's after an unprecedented TWO tie breaking sudden death rounds. Congratulations to Stewart Melville's who will now progress to the Final at Parliament.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Participate! in the Year of Young People #YOYP2018

Participate! P4-7 Assembly 26.1.18 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 26th January we celebrated the many ways pupils are already participating and making their voices heard.

P6 pupils Eve and Hannah told everyone about their recent visit to the 'Burns Unbroke' Exhibition at Summerhall, including an ‘Oor Rabbie’ performance by Andy Cannon. This was a follow up to two wonderful art workshops with the artist Ciara Veronica Dunne where the class explored the poem Tam O’Shanter, chose favourite scenes from the poem and used Indian ink to create final masterpieces now on display at Summerhall. Huge congratulations to James H, Hugo and Oscar whose recreation of Alloway Kirk was chosen as the winning design for a Burns Unbroke tote bag. A wonderful opportunity to pARTicipate in one of the first Year of Young People events.

P7 Grange Captains Flora, Iain, Maisie and David explained their plans for a House Quiz and P6 pupil Dylan encouraged everyone to take part in the RSPB Big Garden Watch at the weekend. P7 pupil Camille explained her idea for creating Bug Hotels with the ECO Group. We are grateful for advice and encouragement from Anne O'Connell and Sarah Tolley organiser of the Meadows Community garden and head of community group "Greening our Street." P4 Fern and P7 Alejandro showed their new ECO Suggestion Boxes and siblings P5 Sam and P6 Eliza encouraged us to participate in forthcoming Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club events.

P7 pupils Isaac and Nils explained their Marathon in a Month idea to raise awareness of Asthma UK which will be supported by PE Specialist Mrs Walker at P7.

Pupil Council members were at Blackwell's Bookshop with Ms French today and will report back on their suggestions for purchases. P7 pupil Niamh shared examples of books which provide strong female role models and will also contribute her ideas for future book purchases at school.

Sports Captains congratulated the P7 Basketball Team on their recent win in the first round of the Hope Trust Basketball Cup and presented certificates. Thank you to PE Specialist Mrs Walker for organising and running the event and to Mrs Tariq for accompanying the team.

Everyone was encouraged to continue to 'Participate! 'and 'Have a Goal' this session, sharing and celebrating achievements with us.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Article 15

You have the right to be with friends and join or set up clubs— unless this breaks the rights of others.

Article 29

You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment.

Article 31

You have the right to play and relax by doing things like sport, music and drama.

Have A Goal House Assemblies 15.1.18 #YOYP2018

Sciennes Have A Goal House Assembly 15.1.18 from Sciennes Primary School

On Monday 15th January we welcomed back pupils by holding our first House Assemblies of the new year for Grange (Ms Anstruther), Lauder (Ms Gallagher), Sienna (Ms Pearmain) and Tantallon (Mrs Noble). House and Sports Captains explained 'The Year of Young People', reflected on goals already achieved, shared their own goals for the coming year and asked pupils to think about their own goals.

Grange House - Maisie, James
Grange Sports - Iain, Flora
Lauder House - Fraser, Molly
Lauder Sports - Eilidh, Sam S
Sienna House - Sophia, Sam B
Sienna Sports - Louis, Emma
Tantallon House - Alice, Caspar
Tantallon Sports - Saad, Arwen

 

As part of the Scottish Government’s programme of themed years, 2018 is the Year of Young People (YoYP 2018).

YoYP 2018 activities and events are focusing on six themes that young people identified as most important for them as young Scots:

• Participation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
• Education – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
• Health and Wellbeing –supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
• Equality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
• Enterprise and Regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
• Culture –celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.

Great to see almost all of our pupils in school uniform, and we appreciate parental support in continuing to encourage this. Warm, hooded jackets with hats, gloves and scarves at the ready, please, for the colder weather.

Article 2

You have the right to protection against discrimination.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Article 13

You have the right to find out things and say what you think, through making art, speaking and writing unless it breaks the rights of others.

Article 15

You have the right to be with friends and join or set up clubs— unless this breaks the rights of others.

Article 24

You have the right to the best health possible and to medical care and information.

Article 29

You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment.

Article 31

You have the right to play and relax by doing things like sport, music and drama.

Rightly Proud!

What a wonderful, memorable experience for our young people - Arwen, Thomas, Alma, Luis, Eilidh, Isaac, Eamon and Rachel - to have an opportunity to present their Together Alliance UNCRC mural of Children's Rights at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 13th December, hosted by Deputy Presiding Officer Linda Fabiani MSP and with a presentation from Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Childcare and Early Years.

P7 Sciennes pupils with MYSPs Joel, Suki and Thomas and Maree Todd MSP

Juliet Harris and Liz Millership (Together), Maree Todd MSP and Linda Fabiani MSP

2017 State of Children's Rights in Scotland published today

We were all rightly proud of our pupils' fantastic artwork and their confidence in presenting to such an esteemed group of adults, gathered Together to launch the 2017 Report into the State of Children's Rights in Scotland. It was a delight to see their artwork feature in the newly released publication and a joy to see Arwen find a picture of herself when she opened the booklet.

Thank you very much to Juliet Harris and Liz Millership from Together for looking after us so well and making everyone feel welcome and at ease. Particular thanks to all the parents who accompanied and supported the children's participation in this very special event.

Rightly proud pupils and parents

P7 explain the journey along the seven panels of their child rights mural, from 'The Policy Factory'  panel where children's voices are excluded to 'The Meadow of Rights' panel where "everyone can be who they are" and have their voices heard.

Cathy McCulloch (Director) and Chelsea Stinson, Children's Voices Project Manager from the Children's Parliament (based at Summerhall) approached us last year with this very exciting opportunity to work with Together - the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights.

http://www.togetherscotland.org.uk/resources-and-networks/the-uncrc-in-scotland-seminar-series-2017 

As part of a seminar series on children's rights in law, practice and policy, Together and the Scottish Universities Insight Institute worked with international delegates to ensure that children and young people play a key role and that key messages from the seminars are accessible to everyone. Together commissioned artists Joanna Boyce, Yonnie and Lyver to work with our then P6 pupils to present key messages in a creative and engaging way. Three young people who had attended the seminars (Joel, Thomas and Suki) interpreted the key messages and themes then our P6 pupils (now P7) worked closely with the artists to visualise the imagery suggested, for example 'rights in the clouds', 'a policy factory', 'a meadow of rights' and 'connected Together in a daisy chain.'

Having adopted the name 'The Clan of Children's Rights', this group of pupils will continue supporting and developing our rights based learning at Sciennes (particularly in the Year of Young People 2018) and we sincerely thank all involved in this project for helping them gain the confidence, understanding and enthusiasm to take a lead role within our school.

 

Article 42

All adults and children should know about this convention.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Leading To Leave a Legacy 24.11.17

Sciennes JRSO Road Safety and Legacy Assembly 17.11.17 from Sciennes Primary School
 

On Friday 24th November our three P6 Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs) took the lead to encourage everyone to be bright and be seen this winter and showed a video to explain why 20mph speed limits make roads safer. Mrs Gibb and P4C received reflective prizes for being the most brightly dressed.

The Pupil Council is leading a consultation on a proposal to extend the playground and everyone in the Hall was asked to signal with a show of hands if they were in favour. Pupil Council reps from P2-P7 are also debating this proposal in class and collecting feedback comments for Mrs Noble.

Mr Howie led an inspirational presentation, designed to help pupils realise how they can take the lead to work individually and as a team to create and leave a lasting legacy, using the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team's philosophies as a theme.

P7 Sports Captains led congratulations on pupils' recent achievements and issued certificates to P7 Sportshall Athletics Finalists.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Year of Young People 6.10.17

Sciennes Year of Young People 6.10.17 from Sciennes Primary School
 

On Friday 6th October 2017 at the P4-7 Assembly, we promoted Primary Three's Harvest Appeal and celebrated the many other ways that Sciennes' pupils are taking the lead in school events. We encouraged everyone to think about they can get involved in making a difference in The Year of Young People 2018.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Pupils Take The Lead!

Sciennes 'Take the Lead! P4-7 Assembly 17.11.17 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 17th November we celebrated the many ways our pupils continue to take the lead, ahead of UN World Children's Day on Monday 20th November. We watched a UNICEF film, made by children, for children, to inspire action.



Sixteen House and Sports Captains were introduced and we congratulated everyone who applied, encouraging all Primary Seven pupils to keep being excellent prefects and role models.

P7 pupils Niamh and Alice approached our Senior Leadership earlier in the term, inspired to take action by a BBC documentary (No More Boys and Girls - Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?) on gender bias, set in a school in England. Both girls recently spoke at a whole staff meeting, inviting all classes P1-P7 to take part in a survey designed to investigate gender bias in our own school. 650 boys and girls were asked to draw their future occupations and Niamh and Alice analysed results to explore attitudes. They presented their findings at Assembly and have many other ideas for challenging views and raising awareness of gender equality.

Mr Howie gave an inspirational presentation designed to encourage everyone to be the 'best version' of themselves possible, taking small actions to make a difference to others.

Six classes - our entire P6 and P7 year groups - are working with Ms Pearmain and class teachers to take the lead in supporting the Winter Fair on Saturday 25th November 12pm-3pm in #iwill Week. Sorla and Eliza explained how P6 have taken on Virgin Money's challenge to 'Make £5 Grow' and Henry explained P7's equally enterprising approaches to fundraising. Thank you to Mr McKenna for all his support in creating magical boxes in the Science and Technology lab.

Our ECO reps met with Mr Hutchison and Miss Ferguson this week and are taking the lead on Switch Off Fortnight. Our P6 JRSOs asked everyone to wear something bright or reflective next week at their Road Safety Assembly.

P4B girls highlighted the need to ask first if equipment or toys are being used, before taking. They reminded everyone to 'treat others as you would like to be treated', follow the 'Three Steps' and work together to make sure we respect everyone's right to be happy and safe in our playground.

Pupils were reminded that they should always come back into school if an adult is unexpectedly not there to pick them up at the end of the day.

House Captains congratulated pupils on recent achievements and announced that Tantallon is leading in House points this week.

Grange House - Maisie, James
Grange Sports - Iain, Flora
Lauder House - Fraser, Molly
Lauder Sports - Eilidh, Sam S
Sienna House - Sophia, Sam B
Sienna Sports - Louis, Emma
Tantallon House - Alice, Caspar
Tantallon Sports - Saad, Arwen

Next week's P4-7 Assembly will take place immediately after P1-3 Assembly 9.50-10.30am to allow Hall space for nativity rehearsals.

Article 2

You have the right to protection against discrimination.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Global Goals House Assemblies 15.9.17

Sciennes Global Goals House Assembly 15.9.17 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 15th September 2017 we held our first House Assemblies of the new session for P2-P7 and welcomed P2 pupils to their first ever House Assembly for Grange, Lauder, Sienna and Tantallon.

In November 2015 Sciennes achieved a Bronze Award and in May 2016, Sciennes achieved a Silver (Level One) "Rights Respecting School" award. We are working towards Gold accreditation (Level Two), achievable within three years of Silver. Our journey so far has been recorded on our Rights Respecting Sciennes Timeline. We asked pupils what it means to be a UNCRC Rights Respecting School and reminded them this includes being a Global Citizen, respecting other people's rights.

We first introduced our pupils to the United Nations' Global Goals for Sustainable Development when they were launched in September 2015. By 2030 these aim to:

End extreme poverty
Fight inequality & injustice
Fix climate change





On September 25th 2015, 193 world leaders committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.) Two years on, we watched a rap to help us understand all the goals better.




2018 is the Year of Young People and we asked the children to think about and share their ideas for being #Goalkeepers, like Malala, Barack Obama and Bill and Melinda Gates. What world do they want to see by 2030?




'The World's Largest Lesson Part Three' has a food theme this year and we will be exploring this and other relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout the year. P3 will again be leading a whole school Harvest Appeal. Last year they successfully led donations to a local Foodbank charity and this year they are supporting the Send a Cow to Africa charity.



15th September is the International Day for Democracy. Congratulations to our newly elected Pupil Council members who will be the voice of their classmates throughout the year and will also be our Rights Respecting Schools Ambassadors. The results of the ECO Rep elections were also announced for each House.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Article 29

The right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment.

Sciennes Values Respect

Sciennes P4-7 Aim High Assembly 18.8.17 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 18th August we welcomed Primary Four pupils and all new pupils to their first upper school assembly. We also welcomed Miss Jennifer Ferguson and Miss Sophie Mitchell to the Primary Five team.

This year, we are revisiting our school vision and values so pupils were invited to think about what is most important to us in the Sciennes Family.  We are extremely grateful to parent Emma Kirk (CEO User Vision and Convenor of the Parent Council Communications Group) who recently led an excellent session to help the whole staff revisit and reflect on our vision and values. Pupil Council leaders will soon be elected, one from each class P2-P7, who will then be able to join in on discussions and support the process.

We explored ways to respect everyone's right to be safe and right to learn at Sciennes. Primary Seven pupils helped explain what 'The Golden Rule' means.



Showing respect universally unites us all: in the classroom, in the school and beyond, as global citizens.  Brad Montague's moving film ' Smuggling Hope' was shown to help us all continue to believe that we can all make a difference by upholding our values.

P6 UNCRC Art Project with Together (The Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights)

UNCRC panels destined for Scottish Parliament in the Autumn

Juliet Harris and Liz Millership visiting to see UNCRC panels created Together 

We hope that families will take the opportunity to come into school before the end of term to see the wonderful UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) panels currently on display in the foyer outside the Gym Hall. They will also be on display in the Scottish Parliament in the Autumn. Below, the children explain the themes and messages in the panels.

Chelsea Stinson, Children's Voices Project Manager from the Children's Parliament (based at Summerhall) approached us with a very exciting opportunity to work with Together - the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights (see video below).  

 



Over the past few months, Together and the Scottish Universities Insight Institute  hosted four seminars on children's rights in law, practice and policy, sharing national international examples of good practice with a diverse group of delegates:

http://www.togetherscotland.org.uk/resources-and-networks/the-uncrc-in-scotland-seminar-series-2017 

As part of this seminar series, Together has been working to ensure that children and young people play a key role and that key messages from the seminars are accessible to everyone. Together commissioned artists Joanna Boyce, Yonnie and Lyver to work with our P6 pupils to present key messages in a creative and engaging way.

Three young people who had attended the seminars (Joel, Thomas and Suki) interpreted the key messages and themes then P6C pupils from Miss Katy Stewardson's class - Arwen, Thomas, Alma, Luis, Eilidh, Isaac, Eamon and Rachel - worked closely with the artists to visualise the imagery suggested, for example 'rights in the clouds', 'a policy factory', 'a meadow of rights' and 'connected Together in a daisy chain.'

During the project on 7th, 8th and 9th of June, Miss Stewardson's whole class discussed and worked on visualising UNCRC articles, particularly Article 42 Everyone should know about the UNCRC (finding ways to depict 42 of the articles) and Article 31 The right to play and rest.

P6C have included their own images of 42 articles of the UNRC

P6C's ideas will help create a new Playground Charter

Juliet and Liz from Together Alliance visited P6C on Election Day 8th June when Emily illustrated Article 4

PANEL ONE
Isaac - The Policy Factory

"My panel showed all adults trying to let children have the rights but the children aren't actually involved in the process. I enjoyed working with the people and painting the mural." Isaac

The Policy Factory, but where are the children?

The Policy Factory from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.


PANEL TWO
Thomas - Right in Reach?

"My panel shows the children reaching for their rights. They aren't getting their rights because the adults are not letting the children help them make the policies. It is important children are involved in things about them." Thomas

      

How can we help all children to reach their rights?

Right in Reach? from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.


PANEL THREE
Luis - Teardrop

" My panel was the one about not getting heard. And children not getting respect. There was a teardrop in the middle because the child was sad that no one was listening to her." Luis

A tear for the child who says, "No one asked me."

Teardrop from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.

PANEL FOUR
Eilidh - The Children's Rights Clan

"Painting the mural was really fun. The artists were nice and helpful. I learned that I could change rights for other children in Scotland. I got better at painting over the two and a half days and enjoyed myself. I hope the mural changes the MSPs' views on decisions about kids' rights." Eilidh

 

The Clan, all Together for Children's Rights, including Noel, Leo and Suki

The Children's Rights Clan from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.

PANEL FIVE
Alma - Right at the Heart

"This panel is where kids are well heard by all the adults. Instead of doing homework straight after school, this girl went outside, had some fresh air and learned more insects. Her teacher teaches mindfulness to her at school and all the children are well treated and well heard." Alma

Getting It Right, at the Heart

Right at the Heart from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.


PANEL SIX
Eamon - Equations

"I think I got a lot out of painting the mural. I developed my teamwork skills while having fun with my friends. The panel I worked on the most was the Equations board which is about three people talking to each other about how rights should just be there, that every child has them." Eamon

It All Adds Up - every child born equals the same rights

Equations from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.


PANEL SEVEN
Rachel -The Meadow of Children's Rights

I really enjoyed working on the mural because it involved being very creative! I liked the ideas Joel, Thomas and Suki had come up with, so it was fun painting and building on them. The mural shows a powerful message to me and I hope it will do the same for anyone else who sees it!" Rachel

Journey along the panels to reach the Meadow of Children's Rights

The Meadow of Rights from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.


PANEL MOTIF
Arwen - Daisy Chained Together

When I painted this mural I learned that everyone has rights and that my voice should be heard. My panel/talking bit was about passing on the word of rights and that everyone should know about them. The mural was very fun to do and I learned lots about rights." Arwen

All connected Together

The Daisy Chain from Sciennes Primary School on Vimeo.

Thank you Lyver, Yonnie and Joanna!

Introducing the project to P6C with Class Teacher Miss Katy Stewardson

 

Miss Stewardson's whole class discussed and worked on visualising UNCRC articles:

Juliet Harris and Liz Millership from Together - the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights - visiting P6C

P6C created their Class Charter with Miss Stewardson at the beginning of the year

Thank you Mrs Aliya Tariq for wonderful assistance with art project

Article 1

Everyone under 18 has these rights.

Article 12

You have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously.

Article 42

All adults and children should know about this convention.