Raasay Primary School

On Friday 15^th December, Raasay Primary School presented their Christmas Show –  ‘A Raasay Folktale’ to a packed audience in the island Community Hall. The community were welcomed to an evening of traditional storytelling, inspired by Raasay folklore, Sorley MacLean and the storytelling workshops undertaken by the pupils with Lizzie MacDougall and her story quilt. Written and created by the pupils of Raasay Primary School, the children took the audience back in time to a time when people listened to stories, passed from one generation to the next. Inspired by nature, mythology and the Well of Understanding, the story started in Brochel Castle on Christmas Eve and took the characters on a journey of self-discovery where the tales explored the importance of trust, self-belief, friendship, bravery and faith …

The audience were treated to the magic of traditional folklore throughout the evening and the main characters, Donald and Roddy, met ‘Time the Deer’, the Wise Woman of Hallaig, some mischievious fairies who lived near the Well of Understanding, the all-knowing White Hare and the mythical Kelpie of Loch Na Mna.

The curriculum focus for Inter Disciplinary Learning this term was Folklore and Fairy tales and this performance was a culmination of the work undertaken by pupils throughout the term.

“This was an exciting project whereby pupils undertook workshops with a visiting storyteller and developed the plot and storyline through a series of rehearsals. The children engaged with the project from the outset and took ownership of the direction of the storyline. What they produced was a fantastic production enjoyed by so many on the night. The children worked extremely hard on making the night a success, being such a small school of only seven pupils, they approached the challenge of taking on multiple roles on the stage and I congratulate them on their achievement.

This was a truly collaborative production and we were delighted to have had the input of local artist Fiona Stone, individuals from the island who gave of their time and skills to help with sound, lighting, filming, make-up and our Parent Council for providing delicious baking and teas and coffees on the night. Thanks are also extended to all staff and parents for their commitment and support in making the evening such a success and also to our parents. Feedback from pupils, parents and audience members highlighted how much the children enjoyed the production and how impressed the audience were with their performance. Well done to all!”  Wilma Duncan, Head Teacher

Please join us tonight for our annual Christmas Show! 6.45 for 7pm at the Community Hall. Free entry but donations will be accepted for ‘Save the Children’.

Raasay Primary School pupils once again visited the local Community Christmas Lunch to sing a few festive songs and present a beautiful Christmas hamper. The children thoroughly enjoyed their visit and helped to get everyone into the Christmas spirit with their performance. The hamper was filled with lots of lovely treats, worth more than £50 and was won in the free draw by Margaret Ferguson – we hope you enjoy it Margaret!

The hamper is a small token of our gratitude for the wonderful support that the community gives us at Raasay Primary School throughout the year. Thank you – and Merry Christmas!

Pupils at Raasay Primary School will be performing ‘A Raasay Folktale’ on Friday 15th December at the local community hall. We welcome you all to join us for an evening of traditional storytelling inspired by our Raasay Folklore, Sorley MacLean and our workshops with Lizzie MacDougall and her story quilt. Inspired by nature, mythology and the Well of Understanding, follow our magical journey as it explores the importance of trust, friendship, self-belief, bravery and faith …

Doors open at 6.45pm with the performance at 7pm. Entry is free although there will be  collection towards ‘Save the Children’. Teas, coffees and baking will be served and there will be a free prize draw. We hope you can join us and share in the magic of Christmas!

On Tuesday 21^st November, Mairi Stewart STEM Co-ordinator with the UHI and three S6 pupils from Portree High School held a day of workshops which the S6 pupils had created as part of their Ambassador project. Raasay pupils had the opportunity to create their own ‘hurricanes’ in a jar!, to make cyclones out of paper and to make light and sound using circuit boards. The children worked together in small teams and at the end of the sessions our primary pupils reported back to their S6 workshop leaders how much they had enjoyed the workshops and fed their learning back to the whole group.

As part of our ‘Fairytales’ topic, pupils at Raasay Primary had the opportunity to visit Aros, Portree for a screening of ‘Revolting Rhymes’ by Roald Dahl. They all gave it the ‘thumbs up’ and even had a chance to enjoy the playpark at Aros after the show.

Pupils at Raasay Primary School once again took part in the BBC Children in Need Appeal. As you can see pupils had a non-uniform day and came to school in their ‘spotty’ outfits in return for a donation. They also collected old £1 coins and made some delicious spotty cakes which they sold to mums and dads. All in all, a fantastic effort and an amazing total of £121.03 which has been paid in to the Children in Need bank account. Well done!

Raasay PS – Facilities Assistant

We were delighted that Lizzie McDougall, storyteller was able to visit our school last week for a two day workshop. Lizzie worked with the children focusing on developing the storyline for our Christmas show.

Pupils at Raasay Primary School getting into the ‘spirit’ of Hallowe’en with a party and fun activities in the afternoon.