Isle of Wight 2018: Day 2

Day Two! A day of Triumph!

Year 6 were up bright and early this morning following a settled and restful night’s sleep, and began their day with a hearty breakfast – bacon proving a particular highlight amongst all the children.

After breakfast it was time for round one of room inspections for which the children prepared with great energy and enthusiasm, all eager to claim the prize for the tidiest room at the end of the week. It is fair to say that the overall quality of cleanliness and tidiness in the rooms was very high, however this morning’s inspection provided a valuable lesson for the children on the importance of duvet arrangement consistency; the most effective way to order shampoo bottles; the importance of placing shoes in parallel pairs and the optimum way to hang a towel in order for it to dry effectively. The boys in room 17 (Chibunkem, Mati, Joseph, Vinny and Anthony) received the highest score for the tidiest room today, although there is still plenty to play for as the week goes on.

Following room inspections it was straight into activities, an exciting mix today of giant swings, sensory trails, the catwalk and ropes course. As the first activities began, all of us were delighted by the surprise visit of Mrs Byrne who had made the journey over to the Isle of Wight this morning to see how we were getting on and to join in some of the school journey fun herself. Mrs Byrne commented that she was delighted to see how well the children had settled into the centre and what a rewarding experience this week is already proving for the children.

The children are working exceptionally well in their activity groups and it has been a pleasure to witness the children really striving to overcome individual challenges. Tiffany pushed herself to reach the very top level of the catwalk; Ulrika managed to soar from the very highest point of the giant swing (and despite what she may claim, Mr Hoyes was not screaming as he sat next to her); Angela shimmed across two ropes to cross a ravine and Kazia with the first class support of Tiffany and Phillip managed to complete the whole challenge course.

Even more so, it has been a joy to see the level of support the children are giving to each other when they see that one of their team may be struggling: Noelle commented upon how much Mariam’s support helped her to conquer the giant swing, Ulrika talked Sophie all the way through her swooping decent and all of Group 4 were very concerned for Mr Quinn when he had to lie down following his giant swing experience – I am pleased to say that with the support of group 4 he has now returned to full health. Matilda, Ryan and George were a model of teamwork when it came to traversing the low ropes; and all the children have been raising their voices in support of their teammates throughout the activities.

Furthermore, the children have been excelling themselves in many ways away from the activities: George volunteered his time to help tidy up the centre dining room, Ade rushed to the aid of Miss McConnell when she took a tumble over a fence (she is now fully recovered) and Giada Mei even went to the extent of telling her roommates stories to help settle them down for the night.

The children are in excellent spirits, and indeed ready for a good night’s rest ahead of another fun filled day tomorrow. All of the St Joseph’s staff are very proud of the manner in which the children are conducting themselves, true examples of our school mission statement in action.

From all of us on the Isle of Wight, goodnight, our thoughts and prayers are with all back home.