Our clothes may be damp, but our spirits aren’t dampened!
After a restful night, Year 6 woke bright and early to prepare for their first morning of activities. But, before activities and breakfast could begin, the children faced the infamous ‘St. Joseph’s Room Inspections’! Many children prepared well and teachers were surprised to see such great suitcase arrangement, bed making and snack placement on the very first day. However, this primary inspection provided a vital lesson for all the children upon the necessity of a warm welcome for the inspectors, the importance of teddy bear safety and bathroom maintenance. Room 8 (Araceli, Fega, Beryl and Ashley) appear to be early favourites with the exceptional snack colour co-ordination, but the title of ‘Best Room’ is still well and truly up for grabs!
Once the room inspections had been completed, the children headed to breakfast, awaiting their first hot breakfast at Little Canada. As they arrived, they were thrilled to see a wide selection of food: bacon, spaghetti, hash browns, toast, porridge, cereal and yoghurts. The porridge proved a particular favourite among the majority with a selection of toppings available – the children are already anticipating tomorrow’s breakfast! At breakfast, chatter turned to the events of the day with all four groups tackling a range of activities including: Problem Solving, Beach Walk, Jacob’s Ladder, Survivor and Fencing.
For Groups 2 and 3, the first undertaking of the day was the beach walk. After a walk to the local beach area, the children were tasked with finding interesting rocks and shells and used these to create sea-inspired sculptures. They ranged from mermaids and turtles, to jellyfish and whirlpools – the PGL instructors were particularly impressed with the artistic skills and teamwork demonstrated by Jayden, Nathaniel and Fega! After the leaders discussed the winners judiciously, the ‘Save the Turtles’ team of Cavalli, Gracie, Nathaniel, Annabell and Tamara-Ann were crowned the overall champions. In Mrs Kingman’s group, Joe discovered Nature’s Golden Ratio in one of the sea shells – excellent application of our recent mathematical learning.
Group 1 and Mrs Kingman started the day with the physical challenge of Jacob’s Ladder, with all children showing excellent teamwork; the team of Julia, Ruby and Uyiosa even set a record time of three-and-a-half minutes! As the downpour began mid-activity for Group 1, Peter, David A and David R did not allow this to stop them and reached the fourth log – excellent work given the wet, difficult conditions. Miss McConnell was also impressed with the way her whole group, including Billy M and Freddie, showed great listening skills and determination during this activity – no wonder so many of her group reached the topmost level!
All group leaders have commented upon how impressed they have been with their groups, especially during the Problem Solving session. This session was such an excellent opportunity for the children to develop key skills that they need and will be relying on in life: listening, teamwork, communication and perseverance. It is certain that the children will be bringing many of the problem solving games they have learnt home to try out on their loved ones – be prepared! Mrs Wilson and Mrs Griffiths commented upon the positive attitude of the whole of Group 4 and their level of enthusiasm and support for each other during their Problem Solving activity.
Today half of the children experienced the very technical sport of fencing, with the children eager to recreate scenes from our recently-studied Romeo and Juliet; excellent jabbing, parry and riposte skills were shown by Kene and Jed as they embodied Mercutio and Tybalt. It is safe to say that the rest of the children are looking forward to this opportunity too.
It has been extremely rewarding to see the children providing excellent levels of support during the activities, whether this was the dynamic duo of Ariel and Beryl who supported each other on reaching the top of Jacob’s Ladder, the whole of Group 2 encouraging Tamara-Ann with her fire lighting skills during Survivor or the support of Rhyiand and Bezaleel as Group 3 waited for all the group members to figure out the riddles and group games during Problem Solving.
Although the weather may not be what we had hoped for, the children have conducted themselves superbly with no negativity. Instead they have embraced every activity and challenge in spite of the wet and miserable conditions. With all groups tackling the Sensory Trail tomorrow, it is shaping up to be another wet and muddy day regardless of the forecast!
Our final thought for the day, expertly put by Araceli, was that this experience is so far like “a dream, but a great one!” As the children finish their evening activity of Campfire, we wish you all goodnight and our prayers are with you all at home.
Year 6