Children at Dundee primary school learn about life as a police officer
PC Scott Menmuir spoke at St Mary’s Primary School to tell the children what it is like being a police officer.
PC Menmuir has been in the police for 21 years. Once he was a community police officer in the city centre, then Fintry, then Lochee. Now he goes to schools.
He has arrested about 400 times but that is not 400 people because some people he has arrested more than once.
PC Menmuir wears a high-vis jacket and bullet proof pads. He said: “It is very rare for people in Dundee to have a gun or a knife.” PC Menmuir has a PAVA spray for when people are aggressive or being bad to the public, he can spray it in their eyes to make them blind.
He said he had to use it two years ago when a person had a big sword and he had to use the spray on that person but it only lasted for 15 minutes.
PC Menmuir has used his spray three times and his baton once. The majority of his job was talking to citizens which he prefers to brute force.
He told pupils that the reason he wanted to be a police officer is to help people and he figured that out when he was only a boy.
He gave information on the training at police college. He said it takes approximately two to three months of training at college. He then came back again after a year for another two months of training.
When police have to wear the uniform at first it is really heavy and uncomfortable but after a while it feels nice and they get used to it.
Police get about 400 calls a day and only about a quarter of them are emergencies. When asked if he likes doughnuts, PC Menmuir said: “I love cheap doughnuts!”
Review: Novel has a lesson to teach readers
The name of the story is The Boy With The Butterfly Mind, by Victoria Williamson.
It’s about a boy called Jamie Lee and a girl called Elin Watts.
Jamie wants to be normal but his ADHD makes him feel like his brain is full of butterflies. He is always in trouble at school. Elin wants to be perfect. If she can be, surely her dad will come home.
We like the story because the children are our age and have problems like the ones we have. It’s a really nice book because it tells you that you don’t have to be perfect or normal, it tells you to be yourself.
The highlight was when we found out how Jamie and Elin’s family’s collide when Jamie goes to live with his dad, who goes out with Elin’s mum.
It has a lesson to teach and sometimes made us feel sad. It tells you that if someone you care about leaves it could change who you are on the inside. We like the book and hope you do too.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Our hero
This week we are shining the spotlight on P6/7 class teacher, Vicky Gorgan.
Our hero is our class teacher Vicky Gorgan.
She is really kind and is a great teacher. Surprisingly she has enough time to help every person in our class.
She is encouraging and listens to others. She supports us though everything which makes us happy.
Miss Gorgan has taught us many things and inspired us to do good. She makes us feel like better people.
She helps us when we are stuck and that makes us feel good because we all feel included.
She has taught us maths, geography, language, writing, PE, ICT, health, RE and a lot of tests.
She has helped some of us to move on to high school level of work.
She is a kind and generous woman and we want to tell her thank you for helping us.
Keep doing what you are doing – you are the best teacher ever.
Don’t stop and keep making St Mary’s a better school. You have inspired us to work our hardest.
If I was captain of a sailing ship, I would…
… travel the world and look at all the different landscapes like Florida and Australia because the sea looks so sparkly and blue.
– Megan Edojan.
… sail to America then to China after that.
– Connor Clark.
… only go to safe places and take pictures, have fun, meet people and get to know everything about their country.
– Migle Vaicekauskaite.
… go to the Caribbean to find treasure.
– Aiden Taylor.
… go to Los Angeles because it is very sunny and cultural.
– Clayton Younger.
… gather an army of other ships and protect Scotland from invaders.
– Logan Catto.
… sail the Seven Seas and travel the world and go to the Bermuda Triangle.
– Oscar Webster.
… find an island and live there.
– John Afonso.
… cross the most challenging seas then go on shore in the rainforest or the clear waters of Iceland.
– Robert Henderson.
… set sail and look for some wild sea animals.
– Ben Kean.
… go to America to see the Statue of Liberty.
– Aaron Bell.
… travel to Ireland because I want to.
– Caitlyn Yule.
