P7trip

Thursday 19th April, 2012

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!

 Download Thursday

LochInsh2012Podcast

 

 

 

 

Day 2 - Wednesday 18th April, 2012

So it was Wednesday already! After what seemed a very quick nights sleep, or lack of, we were up at 7am t get ready for the breakfast run! Funnily enough all the ones who said they would be awake at 6am because they always get up then were still fast asleep at 7am and needed some encouragement to waken up and then then actually get up. It may be cold water tomorrow morning!

It was a lovely morning and the sky was bright and clear and you could see the mist away along the valley with the mountains rising above it covered in snow. To be honest I am not sure how many appreciated the scene so early in the morning.

Breakfast was very busy. Packed lunches had to be made and the first challenge was deciding what kind of sandwich to make and whether it was worth fighting with the rock solid margarine and then ripping your bread to pieces when you tried to spread it! But while some made lunch the rest were tucking in to fruit juice, toast, bacon, cereals and fruit. Then it was another hike up the steps to get the rooms tidied and everyone ready for their first activity.

Two gropps were skiing and one group was off to kayak! The group kayaking got paddles and life jackets and set off to get into the water. After some exercises showing them how to use the paddles they got their kayaks and in pairs lifted them to the water. They were soon out and experimenting in the sheltered area trying out different activities and showing they were confident with the paddle and kayak. Some were determined not to repeat yesterday's 'error' of capsizing in the water and so were very careful.

After this we set off on our adventure right across the loch and round the island to where we could see the osprey and its huge nest high on a tree on the island. The osprey was sitting on top of a lone tree trunk watching us carefully but unfortunately it did not perform by flying off to look for its lunch!

Now we had to paddle upstream and back across the loch and as we were back a little early they got the opportunity to kayak up the other side of the loch. It is no wonder they were very tired by the end of the session and really did very well. Getting back by 12,10 it meant they did not have long to get up the steps, again, to get dried off and changed ready for their next activity!

The skiers had a great time and we soon discovered there were a few budding experts in the group. By the end of the session some were taking on the slope from the very top and were going over two jumps and were ducking under poles on their way down!

The session starts off with the trial of getting the ski boots on and then trying to walk in them without falling right on their noses! Gradually they worked in their groups with their instructors and moved higher and higher up the slope. There were some crashes and falls and the odd mishap but everyone tried very hard and by the end of the session a lot were showing real signs of progress. For those who were doing this for the first time it is not an easy task and can be quite daunting! So well done to everyone for doing so well!

After lunch we had our first mix up of the week. One group were going problem solving, one were sailing and the other thought they were going walking. However, they had changed their plans so that the walkers were sailing so that they would not have a wet activity on the Friday morning before heading home. This is great for us – but meant that in the end they had to go back UP the hill to get into their wet gear so they could go out sailing.

After some intensive tuition they were off on their boats and some were in the bigger boat as a group while others were out in smaller boats in pairs. It was not long before they were way across the loch and despite the relatively calm conditions they got enough wind to have a great time.

The problem solvers worked on a variety of activities. They developed a sense of trust by being blindfolded and having a partner guide them round the beach area, they managed to get their group across the 'lava flow' using special boards to get them across one at a time by working as a team. They then encountered the spiders web and had to get the entire team through the web without touching it or using the same space more than one time. It was very interesting to watch them plan, carry out and review their progress. If they touched the web the whole team had to start again and it was a real challenge! To finish off they had to put up a tent with no instructions. They just got the kit and had to get on with it! Well, they managed and would have survived their night if they were stranded!

Two of the groups went to the shop between the end of the activity and tea time. They managed to use their £10 to the max and either worked out how much they could buy or went back and fore getting more things till they ran out of money! We did tell them they did NOT have to spend it ALL but that did not seem an option to many of them!

Tea was home made tomato soup, pizza or sausages and chips and pancakes and ice cream. Again this went down very well and most were really hungry by tea time.

In the evening two groups were orienteering while the other group were honing their archery skills. The archery group really enjoyed their session and we only had one stray arrow that caused a little bit of excitement! The orienteerists had great fun running round looking for all the different markers to see who would finish quickest!

While having their juice and biscuits the majority wanted to watch the football on TV while some of the girls went to wash their hair and have a gossip! Although they said they were watching the football they spent most of the time chatting, having very intense conversations and recalling the events of the day!

So, another great day with everyone working hard, taking part well and it is fair to say the staff really enjoyed their day too! We were delighted to welcome Mr Imlah, Longside Head Teacher, to the group when he arrived in the afternoon. He is staying overnight and is going back during the morning on Thursday!

 Click on the link below for a slide show of some of the photos from Wednesday! We hope you enjoy them.

Download Wednesday

 

Photos from Tuesday!

Apparently we had a technical hitch which meant the photos from Tuesday did not appear!

Hopefully this link will work!

Download Tuesday

Photos from Tuesday!

Apologies...there seemed to be an error in the photos fromyesterday appearing. Hopefully this link will work!

Download Tuesday

Day 1 Tuesday 17th April 2012

 

Loch Insh Day 1- Tuesday April 17^th, 2012
Well, one day down and three to go! We set off from Longside and Strichen, once the bus arrived, in the pouring rain feeling slightly worried about what lay before us! However, we have had a great day and all the children have really enjoyed the activities they have done so far!

We took a different route and went along the coast from Banff to Fochabers before heading to Rothes and on to Aviemore. We had a toilet stop in Rothes after the driver did made some ambitious turns on the main street!

The driver told me the bus was 12 feet high which made me worry as the railway bridge we go under in Kincraig is only signed as having a clearance of 11 feet 9 inches! He wondered if we might need to go back and take an alternate route. However, he edged up to the bridge and asked me to get out and check the sir conditioning unit was not going to hit the bridge! I think some were worried we might end up in a convertible by the end of the trip! But we had plenty of room and made it to Loch Insh by 11.45.

After getting everyone to their rooms we had lunch while being given a welcome talk by one of the lead instructors and then had a fire alarm to make sure everyone knew where to meet if the alarm went off.

Then we were off to our first activity. Two groups were kayaking and the other group were Canadian canoeing. To our great surprise the rain had gone off and the sky was blue and the loch was very calm! However, it was cold and they all wrapped up well just in case.

The groups went off with their instructors and were given an introduction and shown what they were going to do. Then it was all into the water! We all started in the sheltered section of the loch to get our bearings and to try out a range of skills. Steering for some was a real difficulty and getting the kayak or canoe to go in the direction they wanted was fun to watch!

After a period of instruction and practice we ventured out in to the loch and each group canoed or kayaked up the loch. Everyone took part very well and only one or two fell in! Poor Jack and Glen had an early bath and they soon realised that the water actually is VERY cold! I think everyone else enjoyed it more than they did but they coped well with the situation!

We all got back and tidied up and squelched up the hill to get changed and warmed up. We have been unlucky in having both early breakfast and early tea! Breakfast is at 7.30 and tea is at 4.30! So it will be fun to see how they cope with an early start tomorrow!

Tea was very nice and a lot commented on how much they enjoyed it. They had soup and bread, a choice of sweet and sour chicken or baked tatties followed by an ice lolly for pudding!!

The evening activities were archery and 'way finding'! Two groups were let loose with bows and arrows while one group got the opportunity to explore the site looking for different items and measuring them!

A great time was had by all and as ever the archery was very popular.

We are now getting ready for bed and are hoping for a quiet night – before our early breakfast. The other school has 86 primary 7 pupils and 9 members of staff so we are a bit outnumbered!

Activities on Wednesday include sailing, skiing, archery, walking and kayaking.

Please click on the link below for a slide show of photos from Tuesday.

One day down.......three to go!

We hope the next three days are as good as today's! The weather forecast is not good....but we will all be keeping our fingers crossed!

 

 

Loch Insh 2012

Well,we are almost at the time for going on our trip.We are all looking forward to it and hope that the weatherimproves a little oncewe get back from the holidays.

We will try to update this blog every day in the morning to give you an idea of what we have been doing.