St. Francis of Assisi – School Blog

While the rest of Year 6 was at the Lake District, I, along with other people including Janine, Mia, Nimisha and other people, had to stay at school to learn but also to have fun!  The exciting activity I liked was called Sewing because I was able to use an old manual sewing machine. Although I had to use it manually, it was quite a fun and joyful experience.   I also liked it because it was for a charity, in Africa, where we had to sew dresses for those small African children who barely have any clothes.

First, we were put into pairs (mine being Janine and me) and we chose an adult.   Most adults but one had an electric sewing machine and we decided to work with the one lady with the manual sewing machine.   Next, the adult collected a flower-patterned piece of fabric with pins. It was extremely easy as we were able to work together amazingly in spite of my finger constantly getting pricked by pins!

After an hour, which passed by swiftly , the adult finally let us use the 100 year old sewing machine. I felt very old using it but it was ok. The lady put he fabric on the machine and instructed me to pull the handle anti-clockwise.  As I did it, the small, sharp needle bounced up and down into the fabric.

Later, after Janine had a turn, we cut the arm holes out.   We were selected each to put a suitable-sized piece of paper on the place where the arm was going to be.  We carefully cut out the holes for each side and sewed through the top of the dress to add the stretchable material in.  (I didn’t know what it was.)   The adult cut open the top of it, added the  material and stitched them back together.

Finally, we chose the pockets for the dress.  We got fabric and gave it to her to use for pockets.   Sadly, the lesson finished before we could finish.  That’s all for today! See you in the next blog!

When we first arrived, the staff at the Outward Bound Centre greeted us and told us the rules, then told us where our dorms were.  After we had put our things away, we went downstairs and the staff sorted us into groups and I was put in ‘Team Huston’.

Soon after we had begun our activity, gorge climbing.  Next, they showed us the equipment that we needed for our activity. At first I thought it was easy, but as we got higher it became difficult and the rocks were slippery.   I slipped on a rock and then, I either badly hurt my thumb or I’ve bent my thumb.  As we got even higher, we had to use the Roman handshake and spotting (it’s where we help people up at knee-height).  We learnt this straight before we started climbing.

 We also learnt that ‘wetter is better and light is right ‘.  The first part that says ‘ wetter is better ‘ means the wet parts on the gorge and the second part that says ‘ light is bright ‘ means the lighter rocks are the best ones to step on and the darker ones are really slippery.   We finally got to the hardest part, the scrambling.  The instructor got a long, sturdy rope because it was really slippery and steep to climb.  The first part was easy, but it got harder.  We got into pairs (I was with Harry) and then we waded in, then started climbing some more.   I then started going the wrong way.   At last I got to the top of the gorge, I nearly collapsed on the grass and I was shivering, then we started to walk to the mini-bus.  After we had come back to the cage, we put our wetsuits and the other resources away, then went to our dorms.  I realised in my dorm, that the boots had scratched my feet.  I put some plasters on my feet and headed down.

As this is the end of my blog I’m going to say bye!!!!

What an amazing time Year 6 had in the Lakes last week.  One activity we did was the Gorge Scramble and I thought I would never do it , but I did!   You had to climb up slippery rocks and you had to put your feet in the river.   My friends enjoyed it is well.   Around 6:30 pm  we did orienteering and we had to wear a head torch. The instructor gave us a map to find our numbers which was very difficult.

Waiting to go into the dining room, I looked to see what was on the menu and it was fish fingers and chips.  We walked in the dining room and I saw a big table which was green and it’s table legs were taped together and it looked like it was about to break!

All in all the trip was amazing and i could not fit in the other activities but check out the blogs.

What an amazing time Year 6 had in the Lakes last week. There are two activities which I enjoyed the most and I would like to tell you about them.

It was Wednesday morning when my team went on a ladder called the ‘Jacob’s Ladder’.   A Jacob’s Ladder is a big ladder which you climb and is strung between two trees.  You need to have a harness on and also a helmet before you start climbing.  I never thought I would do something like that but I did.  We worked as a team to climb up the tall ladder.  It was really fun because when it was my turn, I climbed it up very quickly because I am very tall!   When I was at our finishing line (the fourth bit of the ladder) I helped everyone else and stood up!

On the next day, when we had our evening activities, we did this activity  called a nightline.  We were blindfolded and we got a number.  Next, we had to line up in number order but we didn’t know who was number one or a different number.  We were in a forest which had loads of trees.  The tall, green trees  were swaying around in the breeze whilst we were trying to get in number order. It was fun because my friend kept on punching everyone but she was faking.

I have so much more to tell you but that is it for now.

What an amazing time Year 6 and I had  at the Lakes last week.  My favorite activity that I enjoyed the most was when my group and I went down to the lake and jumped into the freezing cold water!  My body went numb.

The second activity that I enjoyed, was when we had to divide our team into two groups.  So one group would go onto three canoes attached together and the other group would do the same and go onto another canoe.  On the way back to shore, we had a race with the Watkins’ team: unfortunately they had to wait for the rest of their group to catch up, so we don’t really know who won.  A steam boat passed by us while we were on the water and it gave a big  gush of water towards us!  It gushed towards our boat and swayed our boat to the side.  I have lots more to tell you guys in the next blog that I hope to do.

What an amazing time Year Six had at the Lakes last week. One activity I would really like to tell you about is the Jog and Dip. All of the Year Sixes went into their groups to do this, accompanied by their group leader.  They were in buoyancy aids and wet shoes.  We started in the shallow area then we got deeper.  We were all a bit scared of going in and how deep the water was going to be. As the water got deeper, some children got so scared that when they saw the jetty that they were going under they ran back onto the rock. The white jetty, which was very claustrophobic and hard to breathe in, moved every time someone touched it.  But all the children eventually got through it.  Some of them were so proud of what they had done, that the group leader let them jump into the water. To do this they had to walk slowly to jump off the jetty and into the water because the jetty was very shaky.  We all had a wonderful time jumping in, someone even lost a shoe!   Walking through freezing water, going under a bridge and jumping off a jetty was amazing but I still would be on the rock, if it was not for my team; they helped me not only physically but technically and emotionally as well.

What a very important lesson I have learnt never give up and over come my fears.

On day two of my journey to the Lake District, I did something I never thought I’d accomplish!  The rest of my year and I all did an activity named GORGE WALKING; at the same time we were climbing a mountain.  (What an adventure!!!)

Before we actually did the GORGE WALKING, we had to do a little test: we had to put two average sized stones on each hand and walk through some stony trenches but at the end we had to jump over them (the trenches). There were also trails of SHEEP DROPPINGS scattered around due to the rams!  Then we all headed away to do the GORGE WALKING…

As soon as I stumbled over the first cliff, I suddenly realized that I was better than I thought; it was amazing. There was an old worn out tree which was getting thumped by the Autumn rain at the age of 297. There were small slopes what the water used to trickle down but suddenly it would come to a thunderous drop.  Later on, we came to a cave which was about the size of a wardrobe but a small waterfall sealed the entrance; that didn’t stop us!!!  At one point I felt quite nervous because we were about to climb a huge cliff and we didn’t have a harness so it was quite dangerous! Everyone, really developed their teamwork  and communication skills. Some things we had to do: Hold each other’s belts as we were helping people up, there would also be someone at the bottom in case someone fell, we used the Roman handshake to help people up because it was stronger and if someone let go you would still have their hand.

All of these amazing adventures were great; this week has been amazing but there are still lots more blogs which you can checkout!!!  RCH and CDS

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After returning from one of the most eventful and challenging school trips I have ever been on, I felt obligated to inform you about my favourite day of the week. This included: canoeing on Ullswater Lake towards a small island just off the boundaries of the OB centre, playing several games and lighting our own fire – using flint and steel – to make some well deserved hot chocolate.  Before all of this, we were instructed to organise the canoes in a line along the beach and tied two together with numerous ropes.  My group (Team Watkins) was made up of 11 people ourselves into two groups.  Accompanied by our leaders, we dislodged our boat off the sand and into the tepid water-which had been heated slightly by the blazing sun.  While we were on the lake, we were blessed with glorious weather with not one cloud in the clear and electric blue sky (which reflected magnificently onto the stationary water).  Finally arriving at the destination, all members of my team climbed tiredly out of the canoe and onto the land ready to play a brilliant game (which was a mix of hide and seek and Grandma’s footsteps).  The announcement was then made that we were to collect all of the natural materials used to make a fire; a variety of different sized, dry twigs.  It was a race against time to light our fire with only flint and steel as our tight schedule only allowed a certain amount of time on the island.  Eventually, all groups’ fires were lit and the hot chocolate was made.  As I am only giving you a flavour of the phenomenal adventures that were packed into our week , you can only begin to imagine what other exciting activities we got up to. If you are eager to find out more about our journey, you may want to read my classmates’ blogs but for now, you will have to wait for the next instalment!

What an amazing time Year 6 had  at the Lake District.  A week away from home, but afterwards I knew what I was capable of. It took a long time to get there but after 8 hours we arrived. In the gloomy evening of day two we had our dinner. Everyone rushed to the lounge to get their group in first. I had sweet chilli chicken with rice – it was really good.  At around 6:30 our group (Scott) went outside and walked over to this thing called the WALL. The wooden planked wall which was about 2 metres, looked very hard.  I was the first one over.  There were quite a lot of spotters and a few people at the  top to do Roman handshakes (a grip to help pull up a partner).  Just after 5 minutes we got everyone over.  Fortunately, we spoke about what we could improve and what we were good at. However, only 3 or 4 people could come on at a time which meant I had to come down. The instructor set us a challenge because we had to get six people over in 6 minutes. We worked out that if the light people went on first then we`d have more time for older people. Sometimes we did it a bit too quickly and the spotters had to catch us.  Smashing it, we did it in 1:55 and our team was really proud. My team learnt that we needed to communicate and not try to get it done too quickly but to take our time and plan carefully.  It was an amazing experience that I will not forget.

I had such an amazing time in the Lake District that I just had to tell you my favourite activity.  On the third day of my trip we were ready to go on a canoe but it was too windy so we had to do something while we waited.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Our instructor (James) said that we will go on Jacob’s ladder -which is a big ladder with logs on it.  I was so excited  to get to the top but it kind of looked imposible.  I felt very scared and also my body was shaking from the cold.  Once I was called to go on I couldn’t stop thinking about falling from the ladder, but luckily we were pulled by ropes.  The big logs were wobbling all the time as I climbed up to the third one and to get to the fourth , my friends had to help me and we also tried the Roman hand shake. We had a rope to help us get up and once we reached the fourth I could stand up.  That was very fun.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          On Thursday after dinner, we got blindfolded and we had to get into number order and it was very hard.  After 3 minutes we took our blind folds off and it was nowhere close to  number order.  My friend kept on walking of.  It was very funny when we tried to get into a circle and we were in a weird line.  I couldn’t tell you about all the activities, but they were all  very  fun.  I hope the next year 6 will have a good time too.

On the fourth day, our group (the Haston team) climbed a wet and slippery gorge. A gorge is a river which flows down a  mountain causing rapids and waterfalls. Firstly, we ducked under the Trolls' Bridge (it's there so hikers may pass over and not go home soaking wet). Around half way to the top, we used our special technique called the Roman Handshake.

The Roman Handshake is when you hold each other's wrists instead of their hands. If you hold their wrist it is better because if someone lets go, the other person will still be holding on, whereas if you held their hand they would fail the task. It is called the Roman Handshake because they held their wrists to see if there was a weapon up their sleeve.

We used this method a lot and it really helped. When we reached the top, Brennan and I did an extra bit. I was extremely proud of Brennan because he overcame his fear of heights. We arrived at the foot of the mountain and climbed into our warm and restful mini-bus!

Are you fed up with visiting the same dull places ….. well then stay at school.   You’ll get to do extremely fun things as well like

. teaching the year ones P:E

. knowing how to make your own dress

. doing poetry with relaxing music in the background

. getting creeped out by deadly, frightening music with the lights off, ant the curtains shut

then giving your teacher a pay back by scaring them!

.most importantly no homework for the whole week!

Laast week  when most of my class went to the Lake District  9 people stayed at school and it wasn’t boring.

On Friday morning, we came in our P:E kits and you’re probably wondering why?  Because  we were going to teach the Year Ones Sport alone!  (With Mrs. Beagan supervising.)

At the 1st of November, at 8pm I met up with my group – the Johnsons.  Kim and Sam – our instructors – told us we would be doing something called “Nightline”.   Standing in a circle, Kim told us that we would be playing  a game called “Shepherd and Sheep” to test our communication skills.  As the adults left us, we decided that I should be shepherd first.  Everybody – except me – had to wear a blindfold and lead them away in different directions.  After that, I had to lead  everyone to a circle without speaking a word.  When I tapped each person’s  head they knew they had to move.   I gently pushed and and steered them from the back.  Once I got  them into the circle, I tapped them again on the head to indicate that the person needed to stop.  Even though the plan worked, it took a long time and Kim called it to a stop to change the plan. We came up with the idea of clapping and the sheep following the sound. This time Rose was the shepherd and the clap strategy worked well.

As soon as we finished, Kim gave all of us blindfolds and spray-painted safety goggles. We had to wear safety goggles to keep plants and branches out of our eyes and they were spray-painted so we couldn’t see if our blindfolds failed. We put our arms on the shoulders of the person in front of us. Worried but excited, I trooped forwards, following the person in front of me. Before long, we got to the first obstacle: a small tunnel.  I tried to squeeze through but I got scared and went by a different route.  After being led by a stick, I rejoined with my group and we were led by rope too.  We had to step over a rock, climb a small hill and keep together or else we wouldn’t know where to go.  As we got back to the centre, we were allowed to take our blindfolds off.  I felt really proud and we had a quick talk before we were dismissed.

On Monday 30th October,  everyone had left for the exhilarating and thrilling school trip apart from eight children (all from 6W), who were taught for most of the five days by Mr Evans.  On Wednesday 1st October, we helped a group of women sew dresses for the girls living in Malawi. Inside 6HW classroom, the eight of us were split into partners and then chose an adult to accompany and assist for the rest of the morning.  My partner Mia and I chose to help Mrs Beaugeard and after a few minutes our sewing job commenced.

Throughout our fifty minutes, my partner and I found out that we were sewing a dress for a girl aged 10-12 in Malawi, Africa. During this time,I learnt that you use two pieces of thread to sew, I learnt to use the modern sewing machine,  I discovered that you could sew manually or automatically using the sewing machines.   I learnt that there was something called a bobbin under the machine and many other intriguing  and fascinating things. Despite the fact that it was my first time using a sewing machine, I thoroughly enjoyed it no matter how difficult it was and it was definitely an experience to remember!

At school in the morning – in our P.E. kits – we went down to the hall.  Mrs Beagan asked us to put out our activity.  Mine was doing sausage rolls (that is when you lay on your stomach with your arms and  legs up in the air and then you roll on the mat till the end) while the Y1 children  started piling into the hall.

The first group came.   I stood up and talked to them about what they were going to do.   I was with my friend.  She was doing a teddy bear rolls (that is when you split your legs apart then you put your arms apart and roll on to your writing hand on to that shoulder). She helped them as well.

While the children were doing the exercise, I was doing some jumping jacks /star jumps or jogging on the spot and stretching.  After it was all finished we went to their classroom  and they got changed.   Afterwards we went out with them for break.

After break, another class came for another hour.   I learnt to talk to them in an encouraging way.  I would say “Well done!” or ” Did you have fun?” also I would say “You did very well just then.”   I asked them if they enjoyed it and they said “Yes”.

The class just finished going round. That is what we did in the morning 1 week ago on Friday when most of the class were at the Lake District.

On Tuesday the thirty first of November, the second day of my time at an amazing place called the Lake District, I tried something so surreal most people wouldn’t believe it this surreal thing which you shall be hearing about – ‘Gorge Scrambling ‘!

After walking out of a really crowded minibus, I stared out into the distance while taking deep breaths, for up ahead I could make out the waterfall which I was meant to be climbing that day. Even though that day was super cold, I was still really psyched up as it isn’t everyday you get to climb a waterfall. The person who was leading this activity was an instructor: Jon.

Because we needed to be prepared, to do Gorge Scrambling, our instructor – Jon – took us to a nearby rock where he taught us a Roman handshake (grabbing someone’s wrist and letting them pull on you so you can get up the rock).  He also taught us how to make sure someone doesn’t fall off the ledge or whatever theey’re sitting on by holding onto their belt tightly.  Lastly, he asked us to do a firm test so that we do could see how firm someone was in case someone fell off a mountain and needed to be caught or if someone needed a push up.

After he thought that we had mastered all three techniques, Jon led us to a field which was in the same half as the waterfall over here we were given special equipment: a fleece, Woolly trousers, a waterproof coat and wellingtons. If we finished putting on this equipment quickly enough, we got to eat half of our lunch: a sandwich and a packet of crisps.

When we’d finished our lunch, my group, (Sam, Bel, Jessica, Olivia, Alex D, Wesley, Rhys, Cameron, Mrs Hinings, Rauri) and I did an activity where we were meant to keep our hands steady by putting stones on our hands and walking in and out of ditches. Most people found this activity hard but I found it exceptionally easy and managed to keep both rocks on my hands. Whilst I’m still on the topic of ditches and water we also did numerous safety procedures e.g. what would you do if someone fell in the water and even acted it out.

Eventually, Jon thought we were ready and let us start off. However when we started I wasn’t exactly sure if I wanted to do it as when we were on the rock the boys weren’t very good at supporting us girls which was actually very worrying. Although my nerves started to ease because the boys were much more helpful  and I felt safer.

Carefully, we progressed up the gorge but once I put my foot on a mossy bit, which is very slippery, and this made me slip but not fall. One thing that made a member of my group worried was that we saw other groups using harnesses but our instructor hadn’t packed any. Soon though we discovered that we didn’t need any and that we were an amazing team if we worked together. Also our instructor kept on stopping us along the way to rate ourselves out of ten to help us improve our teamwork. One funny thing was that Rauri nearly fell of the ledge so we marked a stone as Rauri’s stone and said we’d bring it to his funeral when he died.

Soon we were really high up and I was ecstatic because this walk had brought me a load of memories and also I’d proved myself wrong as I’d been dreading it. Although it wasn’t the end of the day and we saw that Jon was taking us into a cave which had a waterfall above it making it like a natural shower. When we went inside we found it so cold but we soon got used to it and found it quite fun.

The last thing we did was walk down the hill and we could see that we had got furthest up the waterfall and we were only a few metres away from the top. However, we couldn’t go to the top as it was already afternoon and we’d be late for dinner. The hill which we were walking down was very slippery but soon we reached the bottom and we were able to eat the rest of our lunch and set off back for dinner.

That day was amazing if you want to hear more about my amazing week it will be coming soon so remember keep looking for the next instalment!

On Monday 30th to Friday 3rd, 6W and 6HW went on a residential trip to the Lake District.

After settling in and getting used the rules, it was time for our first full day on our one week long trip!

For our first activity on our first full day, we did a “Gorge Scramble”.  A gorge is a waterfall with obstacles-slippery rocks -in your way.Although I was nervous,I decided to put my nerves aside.

As a result of going on a wetm daring activity, we needed to put on some waterproofs and  wellies. Minutes later, after getting ready , it was time to set off to the gorge!

A few minutes later, after going through safety instructions, having lunch and putting on safety equipment, we were ready the gorge.  Within the next fifteen minutes, we were a quarter of the way through. My heart was beating so raucously that Antarctica could hear it.  Gradually,my heart quietened down because everybody was supportive and all helped each other which made me more confident in myself.

Time raced by like a fly.  We were already at the  halfway point.  Despite being halfway, it was the most challenging bit yet… the steep slippery rocky surface. My heart was tightening but everyone encouraged me and I climbed the surface.  I was so proud of myself because I never imagined myself climbing a slippery surface.

When we were near the top,we all agreed if we would have the chance to slide a fraction of flowing water.  It was so fun!  Sliding down was an honour, but it was time to get down and return to the Outward Bound Centre!

Coming down the steep slope was challenging because of the squelching  mud.  Luckily, near the bottom, there was grass to cover the mud. Finally, we heading back.

The “Gorge Scramble” was enjoyable and challenging.  Although it stretched my comfort zones, I was happy that I gave it my all!

Last Tuesday, my group (the Scotts) put on their waterproofs, wellies and packed their bags getting ready to climb a Gorge-waterfall. Despite the fact that I was cold, I really didn’t mind because I was really excited to climb the gorge.  The minibus dropped us off along with our instructors – Rich , Alex and Andy.  Relieved that we had got there, we stopped and had a snack – a packet of crisps and some clovers which turned out to be edible. Once we had finished eating, we put on our harnesses- and safety helmets.

Determined to get to the top, we started climbing, but the only problem was that we didn’t help each other, so Rich brought us down and taught us how to spot (which is when you support someone from the back).  He also taught us how to use the ‘Roman Handshake’, which is when two people hold each other’s wrists, just in-case one loses grip and then the other is still holding on.

Focused on the task ahead, we started helping each other to get up the gorge.  When we got a steep part, the instructors helped us up. We started helping everybody with ‘Roman Handshakes’ and ‘Spotting’. We even got to a part of the gorge where we had to put our heads under some water. We climbed and climbed and climbed until we got to a bit when the water became deep. We obviously had to get water in our wellies.

Next, we climbed until we got a steep bit of the waterfall, two of the instructors climbed up and threw down a rope so that when we climbed up we wouldn’t fall and hurt ourselves. My partner (Eva) and I went up last but it was fun very fun.

After a while, we reached a part where the water was moving much quicker than usual. We had to goo around it, and there was a cave!!! It was beautiful. To me it looked like a bunch of luminous crystals lighting up the cave. It took us half of the day. It was the best day ever!!!

Richard dropped us (Team Haston) at the huge field.  We first took a picture from the start.  We began to walk in the squelchy mud.

A few minutes later, we stopped at a tree and James showed us how to strap on our belts on the bag.

We walked again to hill.   James said to look back and and we all saw the beautiful view.  Then  we all sat on a rock and had a quick drink.   James said to either pick a brownie or crisps to eat.  We then went back to walking.

I accidentally stepped in mud which made my boot sink into it, which then got stuck.  I just got out in time.

Team Haston walked up the hill and it was tiring.  James said that there were little trenches with stones piled on top of each other.  I then got on and we reached the top!  Hurray – we made it!

Two days have passed and we (my group) started our activity, which was called “Mountain Journey” with my two instructors (Niki and John).

Despite the cold weather, we gradually made our way to the top of the mountain. The climbing took 3 hours and was really scary but phenomenal at the same time. My group made a few stops on the mountain to either look at the view or to have a little snack break. Finally, we made it to the top and the view was as spectacular as seeing a dragon for the first time.

My group stealthy walked down the big rocky mountain, saw some sheep and into the village of the Lake District. It was rough going down the mountain but it was still amazing. We waited in the village for the OB (Outward Bound) minibus to bring us back to the centre. Once we got there, our 30 minute break started which meant that we had to get changed and have our evening meal in the cafeteria. After an amazing meal, my group headed down to the kit lockers to start our evening activity which was “Orienteering”.

My partner in Orienteering was Joshua. Joshua and I struggled a little bit and we ended up in last place. Although we came  last place, it was still super fun. After that, we went to the cafeteria to have our hot chocolate. It was one of the best days ever.