Please note there are photos and an audio blog at the end of this post!
Well, the weather finally broke today and we had a few sharp showers – but that did n ot dampen our spirits and we had another excellent day – and a few minor mishaps along the way!
Breakfast was a quiet affair.....apart from one person being surprised because we knew it was their birthday! I won't say who it was but if you look at the photos you might guess!
In the morning Mrs Mitchell's group were away mountain biking and they set off in quite bright sunshine and then had a few showers along the way. They had one minor bump when one of the girls came off her bike when they were nearly home! But they had great fun and came back wet and mud spattered from all their exertions!
Miss Ingram's group set off in the Canadian canoes and were hoping they would not get wet! The loch was very calm once more and was ideal for canoeing. After a while learning the ropes and working as a team to control the canoes they set off on their voyage across the loch to the island with the Osprey nest. On their return two of the canoes seemed to be coming in to shore by the boathouse instead of round in the lagoon where the canoes are kept! There was a mix of great hilarity and excitement as someone shouted that three boys had managed to capsize their canoe on the other side of the island! The instructor had got them back in to the canoe but they had a faIr journey back while feeling VERY cold and wet! I met the canoe and took the three boys back to the chalets to get a warm shower and a change of clothes! They looked very white when they got back on 'dry' land and were shivering quite a bit! But after a shower and a special cup of hot chocolate and lunch they were raring to go once again! Who fell in I hear you say? Well that would not be fair on Cameron, Jordan and Dylan if we told you!
The last group were sailing and spent a good session bobbing about the middle of the loch looking for any available gust of wind to move their boats! The skill of sailing is being able to sail the boat in calm conditions and it proved a challenge for those who were experienced sailors while it made the novices feel a little more at ease in the good conditions.
Everyone enjoyed their lunch and a rest before heading off once again for the next session. Mrs Mitchell's group were canoeing, Miss Ingram's were biking and Mr Jenkins group were skiing. I went with Miss Ingram's group cycling while she took my group skiing! I ended jup having an interesting afternoon having to go back twice with members who either did not feel well or felt a bit wheezy going up all the tiring hills they had to cycle! ON trying to catch the group the third time I missed them and ended up passing them and doing the whole course on my own while the instructor, who only had 6 by this time, took the rest back! The heaven's opened towards the end of the session and so every groupo got a good soaking!
Tea tonight was the BBQ! However, it was an indoor one as the weather was not suitable for a BBQ! However, everyone enjoyed their large burger in a bun, chicken legs and sweetcorn and salad before getting a lovely choc ice to finish!
We had an extra activity tonight instead of the disco and Mrs Mitchell's and Miss Ingram's groups went problem solving while my group went.....yes.....mountain biking! Twice in one day......I am getting too old for this and hopefully I will sleep tonight! However, all three groups enjoyed their evening and it was rounded off by joining the other school to see the video of the week's activities! This went down very well and provided a great reminder of what they had done and quite a few laughs as they saw their friends doing all sorts of silly things!
They were presented with their certificates by the lead instructor and a number of the other instructors who had come back to see them at the end of the film!
It was a good end to another great day. So only one more activity left tomorrow and we hope it will be dry so we can get home without having to sit and steam on the bus!
We hope you like the photos from today and the bonus podcast featuring all the pupils! This was hastily produced with the children in groups who did it all in one take each...with the exception of our girls from Strichen who seemed to take a fit of the giggles every time we went for the take!
We will be sad to leave tomorrow but glad to get back home! They will have many stories to tell you – but from experience it may take a while before they actually do so and they will probably fall asleep tomorrow night quite easily.
We will try to get a short report of Friday's activities on the blog site at some point over the weekend!
Looks like everyone had a brilliant time, including staff! Thank you very much for such a great blog/podcast/photos! The school is very lucky to have such a tech-savvy Head!
Posted by: Amy Alexander | 04/21/2012 at 02:50 PM