Raasay Primary School

Police Station Visit

On Tuesday 24^th October, P1-6 pupils attended Portree Police Station where PC Catherine Tindall met the children of Raasay and Struan Primary Schools. She had arranged a mock up crime scene which involved the pupils developing skills in evidence collecting, identifying clues, problem solving and developing the strategies of problem solving. She had organised that the process from crime to conviction would be demonstrated. The ‘accused’ was Marion Mac who was charged with the supply of Haribo contrary to section 4(3) in the Misuse of Haribo Act 2017! The pupils then had the opportunity to ‘search’ for clues and gather evidence and they found bags of Haribo and fifty pence pieces in her possession which led them to believe that she was involved in selling Haribo. Marion was detained in custody whilst the police and the young ‘officers’ raided her home where they found conclusive evidence that she was indeed the perpetrator of the crime.

The case went to the Portree Sherriff Court where Marion Mac stood in the dock whilst David Morton, Procurator Fiscal, examined the evidence from the Police and questioned PC Catherine Tindall who gave evidence on the day. The case was put to Sherriff MacDonald and

At the end of proceedings she asked the young jurors from Raasay and Struan Primary to individually give the court their verdict. The jury was split in their decision with six coming back with a verdict of guilty and five of not guilty. Mrs Mac was then sentenced to 10 years community service with the warning that any further criminal action would result in a prison sentence. The court was adjourned at 1.45pm.

All the pupils were invited back to meet the Sherriff in her court chambers who congratulated them all on their verdict. Pupils got a chance to wear her wig and some were surprised at how heavy and scratchy it was! As court rules do not allow photographs for security purposes we don’t have pictures inside the court house but the ones below will give you a flavour of the day.

On Saturday 30th September, we held our annual Coffee Day fundraising event. This has become a much anticipated event on the island and this year was no exception. Yet again, the community near and far have supported the event and the day would not be possible without the input of staff, parents, Parent Council and the local community, businesses and groups. The incredible total raised this year was £3682.05 which will go towards providing educational opportunities for our youngsters, school resources and the development of specific areas within the curriculum identified through consultation with the Parent Council and Pupil Council.

“On behalf of the pupils, staff and parents of Raasay Primary School, thank you one and all for making the day such a success. Moran Taing! Wilma Duncan, Head Teacher

On Thursday 31st August to Friday 1st September, the whole school embarked on an overnight trip to the Isle of Harris as part of their Social Studies. We have to thank everyone who helped make our trip very special – everyone we met went out of their way to make us welcome and to enhance our experience. During our trip we had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of the MV Hebrides, meet with the pupils at Leverburgh Primary School, visit the historic St Clements Church at Rodel, learn about traditional Harris Tweed weaving, visit a local artist and, of course, run and play on the beautiful sands of Harris. Here are some photographs which will give you a flavour or our visit.

The end of last term also saw us celebrating the success of our pupils. Parents, friends and families all joined us for a wonderful afternoon sharing in the achievements of their children. Pictured below are all our Nursery to P7 pupils with their trophies and certificates – congratulations to all! We were very sorry to be saying farewell to Ethan, our fantastic P7 pupil who will be moving on to Portree High School. We wish him all the best and continued success in the years to come.

This year our summer outing was to our neighbouring island of Rona. We chartered the ‘Spindrift’ from Portree and were extremely lucky with the weather as it was an absolutely stunning day.

Our pupils took a lead in their own learning as part of Curriculum for Learning by organising our annual Sports Fun Day. Following curricular work on the Greeks earlier in the year, our pupils decided that this would be their theme for this year’s event. As a class they decided what events they would like to hold, the layout of the sports field and liaised with the Parent Council on how they could support the event. Pupils dressed up for the occasion by creating their own toga outfits, Greek headdresses, torches and banners and had organised the menu to fit in with the theme. Pupils created a running order with a fantastic line up of events including: grape and teaspoon race, Greek archery supported by Raasay House, javelin and Minotaur Splat! This was a joint event with the Parent Council and was well attended and supported by the local community. Special thanks to all involved –  the Parent Council, School staff, Raasay House,  the local community and all our ‘willing’ volunteers for participating so enthusiastically in our toga challenge and Minotaur Splat! A fun day was had by all.

On Thursday 22nd June, Mrs Duncan undertook the Cycling Scotland one day Cycle Training Assistant (CTA) course which is aimed at instructors delivering the Bikeability Scotland Training Programme at National Standards 1 & 2. This is an intensive course which then allows instructors to deliver Bikeability courses to students of any age. Here at Raasay Primary this will open up the opportunity for children to undertake activities both in the playground and on the road which develop basic bike control, setting off, pedalling, stopping, using gears, balance and control. Pupils will learn how to safely share space with others who are walking and cycling whilst also being great fun and a learning experience for all age ranges. As pupils move on to level 2 they will learn and practise skills they need to make long journeys such as cycling to school or their local shop. This includes skills and manoeuvres including: learning where in the road to cycle, communicating with other road users, passing parked cars and left and right turns. The training is mostly aimed at children between the ages of 7 and 12 although in our small school setting, after discussion with the organising body, we are delighted to share that we hope to deliver aspects of the training with the younger children too within the playground. This is an opportunity for all children in Raasay Primary School to gain vital cycling skills whilst also having fun in the process. We hope to run some training sessions during school time in our P.E. block and also extend it to some after school sessions in the new session.

Pictured below is Mrs Duncan with the other instructors after completing their course successfully.

On Monday 19th June, Raasay Primary and Nursery pupils visited Lochcarron Weavers and the Smithy Heritage Centre. On our way, we stopped at the Kyle Co-op to buy some additional picnic goodies for the day ahead. Joy who runs the Weaving shop organised a presentation explaining the processes involved in weaving, followed by a visit to the old loom, housed at the back of the shop. The children also learned about the work of Lochcarron Weavers and the variety of tartans that they produce and their visit was rounded off with a DVD explaining in depth the processes involved. Joy kindly arranged for all the pupils to receive a pack which included a swatch of tartan associated with their surname and some other goodies. Our visit to the Weavers was followed by lunch in a treehouse situated in the grounds of the Heritage Smithy Centre. The treehouse was very posh indeed – it included a stove, tea and coffee and an outside veranda overlooking the river. After a hearty lunch in beautiful surroundings, we visited Kim at the Lochcarron Pottery who demonstrated the skills involved in making pots, vases, jugs and cups. Some of our pupils were so inspired that they are keen to return to try their hand at it themselves during the summer. We ended the day by visiting Terry the Woodturner who produced a beautiful vase on the lathe from a rough block of wood in front of our eyes! The vase now has pride of place in our classroom with some flowers from our garden. All the children had the opportunity to buy something to remember the day. On the way home we took the opportunity to stop at the MUGA playpark at Broadford Primary to try out the new equipment there. The pupils returned to Raasay full of new experiences to share with their families.

Team Otter

After our recent fundraising efforts we are delighted to be featured in the Team Otter website – check out the link above for information.

Pupils recently had the opportunity to visit Skye Seasalt at Cuidrach on the road to Uig. It was a beautiful day which meant that the 10 min walk from the end of the road was spectacular with fantastic views over Loch Snizort. Pupils enjoyed having a tour of the facility and learning about the production of seasalt using only seawater. The water was pumped from the bay up to the large polytunnels where it dried out naturally. We would like to thank Nanette at Skye Seasalt for a very interesting visit – and all agreed that the salt made everything taste delicious!