IoW 2022 – Day 2

After a hearty breakfast of Full English and lots of cereal, Mrs Kingman and Miss Grant reported a positive start to room inspections this morning. With Buddy and Ayden’s neat bedding, sparkling bathroom and warm welcome to their room, the race was on for the best room of the week. Maya J was heard also commenting “I’ve never cleaned this well in my life,” so the bar was certainly set high in terms of expectations! Room 5 (Joshua, Daniel DA, Chidu and Beau) were strong too after emptied bins and an impressive display of Military grade, colour co-ordinated crisp organization.

Some exceptional suitcase organisation and bed-dressing attempts continued throughout the remaining rooms, however some recommendations regarding feng-shui were discussed after sights of randomly-hanging face cloths and towels. The children were eager to reflect and many team meetings took place within the rooms planning how to raise their room scores for tomorrow. Samantha presented the teachers with a Penguin chocolate bar as part of the welcome to her group’s room which certainly added half a mark to their score. Some called it a bribe: Mrs Kingman and Miss Grant called it ‘initiative’! 😁

The morning inspection was followed by the first activity of the day the ‘Photo challenge,’ in which all children partook. Children were tasked with capturing the most creative images of a range of locations around the campsite. The self-named “Ultra-chads” group said: “let’s get the teachers in our photo ‘cos they’re lovely and we’ll get more points.” Naturally, this worked a treat as the “Ultra-chads” emerged the champions 🏅!! (Winning Team “Ultra-chads”.

Today, each group participated in a range of exciting activities. Miss Kingman’s group’s (Victoria, Filip, Theresa, Gwyneth, Teddy P, Beau, Maya D, Darcy, Gabriel b, Adham) standout activity was by far the ‘Vertical Challenge,’ which proved a challenge indeed for many of the group. Adham and Gabriel Buch made a fantastic ascent up the vertical challenge and were clearly exhausted and very much relieved once their feet hit firm ground. After a quick refresh of water and a sit down, they were ready for round two. Darcy was given a clear incentive when she didn’t want to climb up to the top: touch the tyre near the top and she would have permission to throw water on Mrs Jones and Mrs Kingman! To Mrs Jones and Mrs Kingman’s ‘delight’, Darcy stepped up to the challenge. Teddy P and Gwyneth also doubted their own abilities yet surprised themselves with their determination as they reached the top. Well done Darcy, Gwyneth and Teddy for achieving more than you believed you could. Miss Kingman’s group also enjoyed a competitive ‘Team Sports’ Vs. Miss Bates’ group (Maya J, Nahriah, Samantha, Natalie, Jayda, Kaya, Uche, Chidu, Daniel O and Alex), and Orienteering.

Miss Grant’s group (Jayden, Hannah, Nana-Ama, Naomi, Joshua, Daniel DA, Buddy, Gabriel B, Arthur and Ayden) activities included ‘Survivor’ and ‘Vertical Challenge.’ In ‘Survivor,’ Miss Grant noted Buddy’s stand-out prior knowledge on building a fire and all things survival – Bear Grylls eat your heart out! The rest of the team (Hannah, Jayden, Joshua, Nana Ama, Gabriel Balcerek pictured) showed initiative and teamwork when tasked with building a survival-style shelter.

Following this, in ‘Vertical Challenge’ Gabriel Balcerek shot up the climbing frame, whilst Ayden tried his hardest to conquer the tires at the top – so much so that he had another go just to try again! Miss Grant’s group concluded their day’s activities in ‘Team Games’ with Miss Sawyer’s group (Blessing, Miriam, Josephine, Grace, Ethan, Teddy J, David, Bereket and Eleazar). After a sweltering day, Ethan and Daniel demonstrated that ‘teamwork makes the dreamwork’ when playing ‘protect the president’ – Ethan acted as an amazing bodyguard and they worked as a great team.

Today’s highlight for Miss Sawyer’s group (Blessing, Miriam, Josephine, Grace, Ethan, Teddy J, David, Bereket and Eleazar) was certainly the climbing wall. Some children were set up for success, having tried their hand at the local climbing wall in Salmon Centre. Inevitably for this group, the boys were gunning for a competitive climb. The girls set the bar high, with Josephine and Miriam climbing deftly, then descending the wall ‘Mission Impossible’ style. Teddy vs Ethan were a particularly speedy duo – Ethan managing to scale the 40ft wall in just 28secs!! Made possible by the group’s odd number, the concluding pair were David vs Miss Sawyer. Group 4’s high hopes for Miss Sawyer’s sporting prowess were dashed, as she experienced an abysmal defeat to David, who scaled the wall in just 23 seconds to her 32! Miss Sawyers group also enjoyed abseiling, which they aced due to their nerves of steel and their earlier climbing experience, and finally concluding with ‘team games’ against Miss Grant’s group later in the day.

Miss Bates’ group (Maya J, Nahriah, Samantha, Natalie, Jayda, Kaya, Uche, Chidu, Daniel O and Alex) got off to a flying start in Abseiling this morning – quite literally! Jayda and Maya overcame a fear of heights and descended the wall in record time, Jayda commenting “I’m proud of myself” as she overcame her fear. Alex’s infamous fear of heights reared its head, but we were all so proud of him for pushing back at the top of the wall – the first step to a successful abseil. His fear certainly didn’t affect his wit, joking “I wish I was bald, my hairs sticking to my helmet!” after his descent. Miss Bates’ group also enjoyed orienteering and team games in the afternoon, which they participated in with enthusiasm and perseverance.

We’re all having a great time here over in the Isle of Wight, but missing everyone back home very much! We send our love to all back in Bermondsey and a special wave to Mrs Wilson, Mrs Griffiths and Mrs Sweeney.