Weekend Reports

Friday night saw a group of lads whizz down the M1 to Walford Road to watch Leicester Tigers smash Bath 27-11 in a thrilling encounter that saw two interception tries. Huge thanks to Mr Beeby who hosted us and ensured we had the very best seats we could have hoped for. Pizzas were munched and Coke was downed before we raced back and crashed out.

Saturday's lessons were quickly over and then a host of hockey and football matches were played. That night the boys and girls had a well deserved "free night" watching DVD's and playing games in their cosy homes recouperating before the whirlwind of a Sunday that lay ahead. First up..... a first class continental breakfast washed down with fruit smoothies and orange juice.

Then we welcomed Mr Jamie Russell, the Housemaster of School House, Malvern College. He had a real suprise in store for everyone -  laid out in front of him he had the dismembered parts of his bagpipes which he slowly assembled using Grace B's help. When the pipes were returned to their proper state, Jamie treated everyone to some ancient Scottish battle tunes and showed what can happen when every part of an instrument works together. In this way he demonstrated the power of team work and the need to value each other's qualities and gifts.

Earlier in the morning, Mr Northcott had taken the Head boy and Head girl down to the Methodist church to be part of a “Learning for Life” service. Both Charles and Poppy read their parts beautifully and made a really positive impression with the congregation. They recounted what S. Anselm’s meant to them and their friends. Amongst the comments they read out they included:

· S. Anselm’s means friendships and it gives you the opportunity to learn as an individual and as a team.

· S. Anselm’s means life long friends.

· I love S. Anselm’s because of the sport, the academic, and most of all the fun and friends.

· S. Anselm’s means opportunities.

· S. Anselm's means, being with my friends, playing hockey, netball, rounders and being able to have a swimming pool, playing fields and tennis courts.

· S. Anselm’s teaches me that life is about other people, not just me… and the food is fantastic!

· S. Anselm’s teaches me how important it is to have good manners.

· S. Anselm’s teaches me to be confident in my actions and enjoy who I am.

By 11am all the children then dashed off to get changed and get on with the activities of the day. The Slieve Mor girls were given a treat by the Berrys and  they weren't going to hang around to get it! By 12.15 pm they were on the road and they had a tremendous ice-skating outing to "Ice Sheffield". Everyone had a superb time. Styles varied greatly with some of the girls exchanging elegance for speed. There was a daunting crowd on the ice, but happily relatively few bruises were sustained. Next time the girls would prefer to take the limo home though...

Meanwhile the 5th year boys got down to some purposeful revision. A high quality hour enabled them to tackle a couple of subjects in the all important run up to their final mocks in mid February. Once that was out of the way, Mr Donaldson took them all for a 5 a side soccer tournament. While Rooney and Song were battling away at the Emirates Stadium, our own highly rated players were showing their talents with the ball at their feet. The winning side were captained by Seth A, with Rufus L captaining the second place side. Seth A's team won thanks to some solid defending from Harry C. Seth A and Max H did some tough defending too but ended up bumping into each other more often than not! After the indoor soccer, many of the boys went to the sky room and saw the end of the top of the table clash.

Mrs Whawell also took a group of boys down to Bakewell park and playground. Running around and being young was just what was needed on this bright and crisp afternoon. A long spell in goal has proven to everyone that Mrs Whawell should not give up her day job – or was it just that the quality of free kicks from Chuck A, John W and Will W were just too good for anyone? Then it was off to the local cafe for some great hot chocolate with cream and flakes! 

The Garden Housers were in Mrs Price's capable hands and they decided to bowl over some skittles and were a real hit at the Chesterfield Bowl (I am yet to find out who the winners were but Mrs Price tells me they have some considerable talent)!The Hillcrest girls went potty with the Calluns....they headed to Matlock and a shop called, "Going Potty!" where they had a fantastic time painting coasters, door plaques, cats, dogs, wizards,snails, butterflies and fairies. A trip to a sweet shop re-fuelled them for the journey home. It seems that there are some buddy artists amongst this lovely bunch!

Some of the School House lads went for a trip to the Hillsborough Leisure Centre and splashed around the Jolly Roger as the waves pounded in and the canons of water soaked them. They slipped and slid, splashed and soaked each other and basically had a rip roaring good time! Mr and Mrs Mace then treated everyone to a fizzy drink and a biscuit in the cafe before heading home.

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Just incase there was any energy left, towards the end of the day there was a huge gathering of girls and boys in our own pool with Mr Northcott. There was plenty of splashing around and perfecting their bombs and hand stands underwater.

Meanwhile Mrs Northcott took a netball practice for the U13 girls. Darting in and out of the circle they worked on tactics to shake off their markers in preparation for their next match. They then had a chance to get their heads down and tackle some revision before the demands of next week.

As ever, this was a fun filled weekend and the pupils were a joy to be with! Next week is the the Grandparents' Sunday Service starting at 10.30am and boarders are allowed out from 11am until 4pm with their families. Do let Mrs Smillie know if you will be taking your child out for the afternoon. Until then, have a great week!