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April 2014
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Day 2 Loch Insh 2014
Loch Insh 2014
Day 2
TODAY'S WATER COUNT: It wouldbe easiertolist those who were NOT in the water!!!
Today was an excellent day! The weather has been great and the children have really enjoyed the activities they were taking part in.
The children were wakened up at 7.30am as we are on late breakfast! Some of the rooms didn’t need wakened but some had to be ‘woken up’ – and we will be surprised if most of the rooms don’t need some prompting tomorrow morning to waken up!
After everyone was showered and dressed and rooms were tidied and juice made for the day we set off for breakfast! Breakfast is always fun. The children are quite quiet as they are still tired and they have to cope with getting breakfast and making their packed lunch. Watching the sandwich making is always fun – but the winner of the most ‘adventurous sandwich’ went to Mr Taylor!
So, once again we were back up the hill to drop off our lunches and to gather the kit they needed for the morning!
Two groups were off to ‘arch’ and they really enjoyed their session. The archery is always very popular with the children as for most it is the first time they have tried it. It is an activity that requires skill and perseverance but does not need the ability to run, jump or be physically strong to be good at it. You are really challenging yourself and for some hitting the target in the early stages is a great event. Then after a few turns you can see the ones who are really concentrating and trying hard to do as well as they can. Nothing beats the look on their faces when they get a bulls eye!
The other two groups were off to the ski slope. They were given the choice of snow boarding or skiing! A group of brave souls quickly opted for the snow boarding! They know it looks cool – but they perhaps did not realise how much effort and practice is required to really master it. Some became a bit disheartened early on but kept at it. They also started from the top of the slope which was quite an introduction for them! But some of them really stuck at it and did a great job.
The others went skiing and for some this was their first experience on a ski slope! It can be daunting the first time you are on skis and Mrs Forrest spent a lot of time working with one or two who were quite apprehensive. But, they too persevered and took on their fear and gave it a good go!
After a tiring morning, as snow boarding and skiing are hard work, it was back up the hill for lunch and time to change for the next activity.
Miss Clark’s and Mrs Forrest’s group were off kayaking in the afternoon and again one or two faced up to their fears and did really well. Some others who had kayaked before really enjoyed the challenge of developing their skills and had great fun with some of the games they played. By the end of the session most of them were soaking and had been out of their kayaks on a number of occasions!
Mr Taylor’s and Mr Donaldson’s groups were raft building and the two groups really set out enthusiastically with this. They spent some time working on designs in their little groups and then once they had a design they set off to build it! Each group got 6 logs, 4 barrels and 8 pieces of rope. They spent a good hour or so building their raft. They learnt about tying suitable knots, working together as a team and supporting each other. Once the rafts were set they went back to the boat house to get paddles and life jackets. Then they were ready for the big launch! The three rafts were lifted in to the water and the barrels were set in position. On the signal they launched themselves off and most were amazed to discover that their rafts held strong and they all managed to clear the area of the loch they were working in. Despite the success of their rafts the main aim for most of them was to get as wet as possible and it was not long before they were jumping off the raft in to the water! They had great fun and eventually they managed to get the rafts back to shore in one piece! However, they then had to dismantle the rafts and put all the equipment back to where they got it! This was hard work and again they all helped eachother. Once this was done they had one final run and jump into the water before we headed back to the boathouse to put back the paddles and life jackets. Then was the difficult part! Climbing back up the hill with soaking wet clothes! The extra weight of the water made the journey more difficult than usual! Then there was the fun of getting off all the wet layers and putting the items in to the drying room! We are not looking forward to going in their and trying to divvy out all the items!
After they showered, dried off and changed they had a well earned rest and enjoyed a drink and a biscuit before tea. Two groups made it to the shop and some worked ou to the penny what they could buy for their £10!!
Tea was eagerly awaited again they were all hungry! They had soup and bread, a choice of pizza or sausages and chips with salad and there were pancakes, ice cream and sauce for pudding! Everyone seemed well content!
The evening activity was ‘Way Finding’ which is similar to orienteering. They split into teams of 3 or 4 and were provided with maps and they had to search out each marker one by one round the site. They had to find each marker and go back to get a different map with the next one marked on it. Some teams were keen to do as well as they could and flew round trying to find each one as quickly as they could while some saw it as a leisurely stroll with finding the odd marker thrown in! However, it was a nice, easy activity and catered to their energy levels well!
After this we had 20 minutes in the play park before heading back to the hall for some quiet time and BIRTHDAY CAKE! Liam has a birthday tomorrow and so we decided to have his birthday cakes tonight! He blew out his candles and everyone was delighted to get a piece of cake along with their juice!
We hope he has a great day tomorrow and enjoys the activities!
A lot of the children were certainly tired tonight as a whole day of activities and fresh air does take its toll! But, with some rest we hope it will be easy going tomorrow!
Tomorrow all the groups will be cycling at some point along with archery, canoeing, raft building and skiing among some of the activities!
We will try and share more of today’s photos as well.
There was a high number of hits on the blog site today and we hope everyone is enjoying keeping up to date with our trip!
More tomorrow!
04/23/2014
Loch Insh 2014 - Day 1
2014 Loch Insh Trip
Day 1
Well, after a bit of an odd start to the day we eventually made it to Loch Insh by noon! Apologies to all those left waiting for the bus early in the morning. As the bus left Strichen, having turned up with NO passengers from Mintlaw and Longside, we received a text from Longside to say they were on their way! To say this confused us was an understatement!
We met the other bus with the Longside and Mintlaw pupils at MintlawAcademy and then had to transfer all the luggage from one bus to the other! Not the start to the day we had intended.
We made our way to Banff, Keith and Aberlour where we stopped for a ‘comfort break’ and a caffeine intake for the staff!
We made it to Loch Insh by noon and then unloaded all the luggage and got the children to their rooms before having lunch and the introductory talk by one of the instructors. After a fire alarm practice we were off down to the boat house for the first activities.
Miss Clark’s and Mrs Forrest’s groups were going sailing while Mr Donaldson’s group were Canadian Canoeing and Mr Taylor’s were kayaking. There was a light rain but it was quite warm initially.
Everyone got decked out with a life jacket and a paddle if one was required. The two sailing groups had the chance of going out in small boats for two or one of the bigger boats in a group of six. 11 decided to go in the small boats while 12 opted for the larger boats. Miss Clark took six and headed off with their instructor to the first boat by speedboat. Mrs Forrest soon followed with another six. The ones left started clambering on board their little boats…and before they were all ready for the off we had ONE who ended up out of their boat and IN the water! Poor Clare soon realised how cold the loch’s water was and we got her out of the water as quickly as possible. Her boat was soon bobbing under the water!! So as the rest got into the boats and set off we took Clare back up the hill to the accommodation so she could get a warm shower and change!
The other two groups started off with some instruction on how to use their paddles for either kayaking or canoeing. This is done on land and they were shown how to hold the paddles correctly and how to use them to move in different ways in the water. Then it was their time to head out on the water. The canoeists were in groups of three and had to work together to ensure they went where they needed to go. The kayakers were on individual kayaks or in ones built for two. They spent the 20 – 30 minutes in the sheltered area learning how to handle the canoes or kayaks, how to turn in different directions and generally build their confidence. Once the instructor was happy they ventured out on to the loch.
The canoeists ventured up the loch before heading back down to play some games near the beach. The kayakers were quite bold and were soon out of site up at the bottom end of the loch and they made the trip round the island before heading back to the boat house! Considering they started late they did very well to make it so far!
Clare in the meantime had got dried out and changed and was soon offered the chance to go out on the speed boat with Johnny who was going to take some film of the grops out on the water. She jumped at the chance and with her life jacket back on she was soon speeding across the loch at top speed!
By the time they all made it back to shore they were quite wet! Some were very wet and the drying room is already full of items! We will soon find out how many did in fact put their initials on their clothes!!
After a bit of quiet time and a chance to ‘unpack’ (which for some meant tipping out their case!!) we were off for tea! We have scored this year and have got late breakfast AND late tea which is great!
Tea was soup, sweet and sour pork or baked potatoes and fruit icicles for pudding!
We were no longer back up the hill when it was time to head out for the evening activity! The Wide Game!
They were split into two teams and then chose their area to defend their flag in the woods and set up camp! The games then commenced! Each team had to defend their coloured buoy from being stolen by the other team and also make sure they did not loose their ‘tail’ to the opposition! If they lost their tale they were sent to prison until it was decided to release them once again!
Madness ensued as they chased about and Mr Donaldson and Mr Taylor took part VERY enthusiastically with their team!
To finish off the evening they got the chance to play in the play park or watch the football. To their credit only three ended up with the football option and the rest set off to run off more steam in the park!
We now have time for juice and biscuits before bed and hope that they will get to sleep quickly when it is light out time!!
A good day so far…..lets hope for more of the same today!
We will try and upload some photos along with this if we can get a good enough signal to share the photos.