Showing posts with label equal rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label equal rights. Show all posts

Saturday, 21 January 2017

Global Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities


Sciennes P4-7 Assembly SDG10 20.1.17 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 20th January we were delighted to welcome back Former Pupils Jamie Underwood, Li-Sian Song and James Stewart, who are now in S6 at James Gillespie's High School and preparing for a visit to twinned schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in February. They have asked pupils to donate pencil cases, toys, games and clothes which can be handed into the School Office until Friday 2nd February.

Mr Howie gave an inspirational presentation on how Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Arkansas Little Rock Nine, successfully managed her emotions and response to the extreme prejudice and racist hostility she endured in 1957, just for going to school. Her remarkable dignity is an example to us all and linked very effectively to school use of 'Emotions Talk' as a support for pupils in managing their emotions. Mr Howie encouraged everyone to learn not only from role models in history but also from people around us in how we manage our emotions and stand up for what we value. We all certainly look to Mr Howie to inspire and encourage us with his engaging and deeply thought-provoking presentations, taking powerful lessons we can all learn from History and relating them to our school.

We thanked Sciennes' parent, Mr Colin Sim, who as well as recently securing £5500 for digital learning through funding applications also secured a grant of £2000 from South Central Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership to enhance our school grounds. There is great interest from the children in the willow structures currently being installed in the playground by Gus and his team from 'Earth Calling'.

Article 1

Everyone under 18 has these rights.

Article 2

You have the right to protection against discrimination.

Article 29

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

Saturday, 14 January 2017

Dr Martin Luther King Day Assembly 13.1.17



On Friday 13th January we learned about the extraordinary life of Dr Martin Luther King Junior and how his peaceful actions and brave dedication to equal rights for all led to change. We asked pupils what they could do in 2017 to make change happen and make a difference for others. Last term, P7 pupil Nicky raised almost £500 with his Save the Children Christmas Jumper campaign and P6 pupil Catherine spoke at Assembly to explain how she is being sponsored to donate a length of hair to the Little Princess Trust to help a child suffering hair loss due to cancer treatment.

We celebrated Sciennes' parent, Mr Colin Sim, who took action to make a huge difference to learning and teaching for our pupils by submitting two grant funding applications for the school. One to Aviva Life Assurance was awarded £500 and one to the OneFamily Foundation was awarded an incredible £5000! Thank you to all the Sciennes Family for voting. The money will be used to purchase a year group set of iPads.



Article 1

Everyone under 18 has these rights.

Article 2

You have the right to protection against discrimination.

Article 29

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


Friday, 13 May 2016

Unicef Day for Change P4-7 Assembly 13.5.16




On Friday 13th May at the P4-7 Assembly we reflected on our Rights Respecting Schools Level One Inspection on Wednesday 11th May. We celebrated achieving a Level One Award and all the positive feedback we received. We also thought about some of Unicef's recommendations for our next steps towards the Level Two Award. We thanked everyone for generously donating their loose change to Unicef on the 'Day for Change' and thought about what we could change to help us make sure everyone knows about children's rights - at Sciennes and in other countries.

P7 Captains took on the task of collecting and counting the loose change. There was so much that they will have to resume counting next week! Thank you very much to everyone who donated. P7 Captains told us about the crisis in Syria and how children's rights are being affected. The money raised today will help Unicef support Syrian refugee children.

Mr Howie showed a video 'If the world were 100 people' to continue to help us think about equal rights. P7 Captains congratulated pupils on recent achievements. Next week's assembly will be at 9.50am and will focus on CEC 1+2 Languages for World Diversity Day.



Article 42 All adults and children should know about the UNCRC
Article 29 You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment. 



Saturday, 7 May 2016

World Day for Cultural Diversity 21st May

Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion

In 2011, a grassroots campaign ‘Do One Thing For Diversity and Inclusion’, celebrating the annual World Day for Cultural Diversity was launched by UNESCO and the UN Alliance of Civilizations.
By encouraging people and organizations from around the world to take concrete action to support diversity, the campaign aims:
  • To raise awareness worldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclusion.
  • To build a world community of individuals committed to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures.
  • To combat polarization and stereotypes to improve understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures. 

On Friday 20th May we will share information with pupils at Assembly about our International Summer Fair on Saturday 4th June. We will also celebrate the tremendous progress in City of Edinburgh's 1+2 Languages at Sciennes this year, so ably led by our Languages Co-ordinator Bethan Owen, and thank our three Spanish support assistants - Primary Student Volunteer Language Assistant Initiative (FLO project): Manuel, Sergio and Isabel. We have also been extremely fortunate to host Erasmus Scholarship Spanish student Ana Vidal, final year Bilingual Primary Education Teacher from the Complutense University of Madrid.


Our P7 Sports Captains are preparing a presentation on Olympic and Paralympic values:
  • respect – fair play; knowing one’s own limits; and taking care of one’s health and the environment
  • excellence – how to give the best of oneself, on the field of play or in life; taking part; and progressing according to one’s own objectives
  • friendship – how, through sport, to understand each other despite any differences
Article 2


Global Goals: end poverty, combat climate change and fight injustice and inequality.