Kingswood, Staffordshire 2007

If parents wish to send emails please send them to parents.staffordshire@kingswood.co.uk and put your daughter's name and Sheffield High School in the subject bar. These will be printed and given to your daughters - please do not expect replies.
WEATHER WATCH.
Sunday 17th June 2007 9.40pm
Well, we're here. almost exactly 2 hours in the coach, the first "are we nearly there yet" was a record 30 minutes into the journey! No problems on our luxuary coach other than getting down the rather narrow lane that leads to the centre - the coach driver was not too happy about his paintwork!
Having been shown the centre, made beds (a learning curve of Everest proportions for some) and had a bit of free time to stretch legs it was time for Dinner, the variety of food was an eye opener and the fact that you could have a bit of everything was greeted with relish. Having eaten heartily it was time for the first activity: Aeroball, quad bikes, zip wire and outdoor initiatives were successfully tackled by everyone.
A scrapheap challenge was the evening entertainment for our girls, they had to protect a water balloon using various items of junk; 3 out of four groups succeeded and got to splat their water balloons over the instructors heads!
The girls have now headed off to bed following a cup of hot chocolate and will very soon be having lights turned out. They are all happy, safe and looking forward to whatever tomorrow brings.
Monday 18th June 2007 9.30pm
Wow, what a day.
A bit of a late night but probably not as late as the girls will tell you - it is gradually increasing from midnight onwards, I think the best they can do at the moment is 3.30am - it certainly was not and many were asleep by 10.30pm. A reasonably early start and a hearty breakfast and they were straight off to first activities which blew away any sleep from their eyes and it has been non stop from then on.
The extreme mix of sunshine and showers made for an even more challenging day than we had planned. All activities took place despite the weather which has certainly not dampened anyone's spirits - say to the girls at school to go out in the rain at playtime and they would soon let you know how they felt about it, yet here we are having to persuade them to go and get out of wet/damp clothes before the next activity starts, they are, as one, undetered by rain. Activities today have included Problem solving, aeroball, archery (many Robin Hoods in the making), Lazer quest (their chance to zap a teacher and vice versa), team technology, circus skills and quad bikes. Highlights from today have included Mrs G landing in a large puddle off the zip wire to much applause and no sympathy, copious amounts of food, plenty of crashes on the quads and tough competition in the archery range. The day finished with an indoor campfire; jokes were told, songs were sung and marshmallows eaten, just like the real thing but without the smoke.
Having had a calming cup of hot chocolate, they are, as I write, having a quick shower and getting ready for bed. I doubt they will be awake for very much longer - drifting off into a satisfied, happy sleep.
All the girls have been brilliant today, participating in everything, overcoming challenges and fears and being very good company for each other and adults. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow, they really are having the time of their lives.
Tuesday 19th June 2007 9.30pm
What a difference a good night's sleep makes, not a peep from anyone after 10.30pm and one or two even had to be woken up this morning ready for our cooked breakfast, cereals, fruits, yoghurt etc. at 7.50am.
Once again, an action packed day, abseiling and go karts seem to have been the favourite activities with the girls, not to say that fencing, climbing, low ropes, parachute games etc. were not enjoyed by everyone. The sense of achievement and pride that some of the girls enjoy, having conquered something that they never thought that they would do, is the whole reason for trips such as this. Much of what they learn is about trust and trusting people that they may not have worked with before. Trusting that your colleague will stop you from falling off a low rope, or trusting that an adult will not let you fall off a climbing wall, but will let you down gently and safely is an important lesson to learn.
Today was made all the better by dry weather, even sunny at times but there is now quite a thunder storm rattling around - not really ideal conditions for settling down to sleep but may be the disco that some of them enjoyed will have tired them out, if the activities didn't quite manage to exhaust them. Those who opted for watching a film seemed to enjoy just a bit of lounging around time.
Thank you to all those who have left messages on this blog - glad that it has stuck in the memory of those in Year 8. Your emails have also been handed out to the girls who have been grateful for a little contact from home.
Everyone is looking forward to two final activities tomorrow morning and then heading back to Sheffield after lunch. We will be having a small awards ceremony here prior to departure, just to celebrate the girls achievements in a lighthearted manner. Once again, all the girls have done themselves proud, they are safe, happy and looking forward to seeing their families tomorrow, yet sad that their Kingswood experience is nearing the end.
Wednesday 20th June 2007 8.00pm
By now you will all have your daughters back with you, stories will have been told and renditions of songs will have have been sung. This blog does not feel like a complete account of Kingswood 2007 without just a few words about today.
A hectic start to the day with beds having to be stripped and packing completed before breakfast. After a continental breakfast all the bags had to come out of the dormitories, leaving just enough time for a final visit to the shop for last minute goodies. All groups had just 2 activities this morning, just to ensure that everyone had done everything, while the groups headed off for parachute games, low ropes and climbing Mr Willatt had a chance to feed back to the centre about the visit. All very positive from our end and the staff at the centre were very complimentary about the conduct of the girls throughout the 4 days. One instructor finished his final session (very wet) with one group by saying that his only regret was that he was not our group leader this week. These compliments were heartfelt and goes to show what a credit the girls were to the school and to their parents.
After lunch we gathered together for an awards ceremony where funny things that the staff had noticed about the girls were rewarded, everyone took them in the manner that they were delivered, knowing that they were, on the whole, true.
The coach was loaded and we were waved off by a large group of instructors. A trouble free, if a little noisy, journey back to Sheffield and we arrived, bang on time at 3.55pm.
I cannot say enough about just how brilliant the girls have been, they have all experienced things that they never dreamt of and learnt a huge amount; the Kingswood centre talk a lot about "Life Long Learning", not all of which can be taught in the classroom. I hope that this week has put a few "Life Long Memories" in place. The girls should certainly feel very proud of themselves for eveything that they have done over the last four days.
Unbelievably, planning has already started for a visit to Kingswood for Year 6 in June 2008, by then everyone we took this year will be in Year 7, using some of the lessons they learnt while away from home.
My thanks go to Mrs Groombridge, Miss Bainbridge and Miss Milnes, they were real stars, working so hard to ensure the girls had fun and stayed safe. They have worked tirelessly so if you have lessons with them tomorrow, please go easy on them. Without teachers to volunteer to go on these trips it would not be possible to take anyone away, thank you.
There are just over three more weeks of this term to enjoy, so looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at school for a little more Magic Maths.