Our School
Hamnavoe Primary School is situated on the island of Burra. The catchment area for the school is the whole of Burra. The school is non-denominational and caters for pupils of all primary stages. The school has a close relationship with the Burra Playgroup, which provides nursery education for the area, and with Scalloway Junior High School. The current roll of the school is 50.
There are three classes.
- Primary 1/2/3 - 18 pupils
- Primary 4/5 - 14 pupils
- Primary 6/7 - 19 pupils
You can learn more about each class, and about staff and the history of the school by selecting from the menu options.
School Aims
- Here at Hamnavoe Primary School we strive to promote high standards of learning and teaching so that all pupils are motivated to realise their potential.
- We aim to provide a happy, ordered and structured environment based on mutual respect and consideration for others.
- We intend to build strong links with parents and local businesses.
Curriculum
Our Curriculum is balanced and broad-based and includes the requirements of the National 5-14 Curriculum Guidelines.
The Curriculum comprises of Mathematics, English Language, Religious and Moral Education (RME), Information Communication Technology (ICT), together with Environmental Studies, which encompass subjects in Design Technology, Geography, History and Science. Expressive Arts includes: Art, Music and Physical Education.
Personal, Health, Social Development (PHSD) forms part of the curriculum throughout the school and includes a developing awareness of the potential dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, encouraging children to be confident in saying "No!” PHSD also includes Sex Education and Citizenship.
We have individual policies for every curriculum area. These are reviewed and updated regularly.
See Quality and Standards Report on the News Page to read about all the subjects the children experience.
Eco School
The school has recently achieved its third Eco Flag. Click on the link below for Eco Schools Scotland where you will find our school featured. We are now striving for ‘Permanent’ Eco Status and to achieve this we need to gain one more flag! The site has lots of features including a pupils forum. As part of Eco committments we have two Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSO) in Primary 6. Their job is to promote road safety throughout the school. As part of their duties they will; carry out surveys on how children travel to school, display road safety material on our designated display board, deliver presentations and devise competitions. Read more about JRSOS by clicking on this link JRSO
Health Promotion Status
The school has also, recently, been awarded with 'Health Promotion Status' and one of the essential elements is its involvement with Active Schools. The children have the opportunity to be engaged in a variety of exciting activities with Active Schools. Click on the link below to find out more.
The Voar-Redd-Up
Every year the whole school takes part in the Voar-Redd-Up. This means that they clear any debri that has been swept in by the sea, or simply blown in by the wind, onto the beaches. They also pick up rubbish from around the village of Hamnavoe.
Spring Music Concert
We have lots of talented musicians here at Hamnavoe Primary School and to celebrate their talents the school held a Music Concert on Monday 20th April 2009. After the success of last year's concert we are now making this an annual event. The concert was attended by many parents and friends in the community. This year we included the talents of the teachers and instructors. Click on the link to see the programme which highlights the many talented children in our school. Music Concert Every child in the school took part in singing and playing some sort of musical instrument.
Outdoor Persuits
Primary 6/7 enjoyed an educational trip to Eshaness on Thursday 22nd May 2008. The trip was part of their study on Shetland Geology. Allen Fraser a geologist specialist and Kate Dougan a Geoparks Officer from the Shetland Amenity Trust joined us on the trip and taught the children about the different rock formations, glaciers and pointed out areas of volcanic material that had been there for over 350 million years!
The children gained much from the experience and back at school put together a portfolio to present to Allen.
Primary 1s and 2s looking for tadpoles in the school pond! Concrete blocks embedded with shells decorates the pond which were produced by the children.
The children enjoyed a flavour of Zimbabwe when Grass Roots Theatre Group visited the school on Tuesday September 2nd 2008. They experienced the exciting dynamics of Zimbabwean drum, dance and song. 'If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing' Zimbabwean proverb.
Enterprise in Education
As an Enterprise Project the pupils in P6/7 chose to make 'Reindeer Dust Boxes' (See picture showing display below the Christmas tree).
These beautiful boxes were made from recycled old christmas cards and are fully 'green' as they can be used again for other uses such as sweet or jewellery boxes.
The process involved skills such as; creative writing, collaborative working, design and technology and cost analysis. Placed in each box is a little booklet which has the instructions of how to use the dust.This is in the form of a peerie concertina book. A total of 50 boxes were made and will be sold at the school by the children.
Parent Lorraine Johnson came to the school and helped the children with the construction of the boxes.
Each child then wrote a fantasy story about the Reindeer dust and how it can be used to make dreams come true. These stories will be read out to the Primary 1,2 and 3 children.
The New 3-18 Curriculum for Excellence allows teachers more flexibility to allow pupils greater choice and opportunity to be creative and enterprising. The above is a perfect illustration of this. The purpose of Curriculum for Excellence is to promote a wider sense of achievement. Curriculum for Excellence is firmly focused on the needs of the pupils and is designed to enable them to develop the four capacities. Follow the link to read more: Curriculum for Excellence
Carpet Bowls
On Friady 5th December 2008 the school was visited by John Jarmson, Jean Jarmson and Babs Mundie who gave Primary 6 and 7 their first taste of carpet bowls. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are looking forward to further sessions in the New Year.
