IOW – Day 4

Perseverance reaps rewards!

As the sun rose, and blessed us with its presence, we were all looking forward to a drier and much warmer day. With an early bedtime the previous evening, the children were fresh-faced and ready for their final full day at Little Canada. As the penultimate round of room inspections arrived, the children continued to make excellent changes to their rooms in order to impress the two inspectors: Mr Law and Mrs Kingman. With all rooms now scoring between 14 and 17.5, the competition continues to stay close into the final day.

This morning, all four groups took part in Orienteering, in which they had to use their map reading skills to navigate around the centre to locate various checkpoints. Working in new groups, the children had to work together to allocate roles and each member had to work hard to participate effectively to lead their group to success. Mr Law commented upon Kristina’s excellent leadership skills as she proved to be an effective group leader, making sure her group followed the map carefully to each checkpoint and she fairly delegated responsibilities to her group.

It was the turn of Groups 1 and 2 to take on the Zipwire today. Matthew and Uyiosa zoomed down the wire, full of confidence, and Uyiosa even showed off some dance moves during his descent. Although some children found this activity to be quite daunting, with the support of their groups they all participated fully and the pride was evident on their faces. Mr Law was so impressed with Group 2 and how they supported Fega during this session; she was initially very nervous but her peers encouraged her – after her first turn, she loved it and could not wait to get back on the wire! Saron’s upbeat attitude continues to impress Miss McConnell, alongside the other group leaders, as she continues to thrive. During the Giant Swing activity, she carried a great smile as she was catapulted from a height – excellent determination.

After lunch, all four groups were going to be partaking in Climbing and Aeroball. During the group tournaments, all children showed excellent hand-eye co-ordination and balance in order to score points. Although the team of Mr Law and Tamara-Ann won the Group 2 tournament, they faced many strong opponents along the way, not least Franck and Ola who have shown a natural aptitude for basketball-style games. All were anticipating the teacher and children battle as Mr Law and Mrs Kingman faced off against the children, but it is safe to say that Mr Law and Mrs Kingman were unhappy with the result – the children are still celebrating their victory! In Groups 3 and 4, Nathaniel proved to be the champion and scored a mind-blowing thirty-two points, almost scoring every single shot!

The indoor climbing wall proved another great treat for the children, many of whom have not used a climbing wall before. Mrs Kingman spotted another excellent example of our mission statement in action as Annabell and Ruby helped many of the children tighten and secure their harnesses – they showed great consideration and care for their friends! Fifi proved to be a swift and nimble climber as she whizzed up the wall and reached the top; Kene also showed excellent support and guidance, helping his friends find a path to the top of the wall.

The time had come for Year 6 to begin the preparations for the Disco night – the Isle of Wight better be prepared for St Joseph’s! Miss McConnell’s infamous nail bar was open and Mrs Kingman even opened a pop-up hair salon; the singing was in full swing with the disco quickly approaching. The children cannot believe how quickly the week has gone, but as we all know ‘time flies when you’re having fun’.

See you all tomorrow back in Bermondsey.

Year 6