Peter T gave this weekend a 9.5 out of 10 and I know why! The kids had a ball and expended an unbelievable amount of energy doing some fantastic activities.
On Saturday, night whilst the girls were cosy in their Houses supping on hot chocolate and watching DVD's the boys broke out! "School House Mission Impossible" was a resounding success. Basically the aim of the game was to navigate through darkened corridors and across the school grounds avoiding detection by the Gestapo Camp Commandants - Herr Northcott, Herr Scothern and Herr Mace. These sinister men patrolled the perimeter wires armed with torches and booming voices! If they evaded capture the boys were registered by double agent Mike Smith at the far Cope Pavillion on top field. Then, the boys had to return back to school to release any captured escapees who were in the clutches of the evil Dr Skipp in GSRIII. The objective was to get the whole House registered at the top pavillion within 40 minutes. All save two boys managed it so the Gestapo won..... this time! Well done to Alex V, Bertie W and Elliot W who came first, second and third respectively. The game was played in great spirit and the older boys really looked after the younger ones (Tom W was even carried to safety at one point)! Afterwards we all had hot chocolate, pizza and cookies and managed to watch a bit of a film too. All good clean fun!
The next day we bounced out of bed and had a fabulous full English breakfast. The morning activities included watching a film, playing board games, a netball practice led by Mrs Northcott and a rugby sevens practice with Mr Mace. The rugby boys had a cracking time and really ran off some of the excesses of Christmas in preparation for the sevens tournaments this term. Paddy D scored a host of tries using his blistering pace but it was great to see all the boys playing with such skill and verve. As you can see, Ben E needs to work of some more figgey pudding!
After a buffet style lunch the Slieve Mor girls headed off to Sheffield. Mr and Mrs Berry write:
For a fantastic fun fiesta of tennis the Slieve Mor girls made the 20 minute journey to the luxurious courts of the Abbeydale Tennis Club. The house divided into pairings for a doubles tournament. The atmosphere was superb with a variety of different styles and approaches to play. These ranged from the bullet like serving of Olivia 'Roddick' C to the calmly laid back style of Harriet ' Chris Evert' R.
The games were played in terrific spirit with only a little gamesmanship from the pairing of Nancy 'Sharapova' S and Emma 'Serena Williams' H. The real displays of emotion were witnessed only when Mr or Mrs Berry humiliated their partners and dropped points! Scores were close but an exciting final game left Roxane ' Venus Williams' B the final winner, having carried partner Mrs Berry throughout the tournament.
Iconic moments included some of Roxane's powerful forehand drives, Nancy and Emma had fun rugby tackling Roxane and Mrs Berry as they were thrashing Mr 'Nadal'(he wishes) Berry and Harriet. Hannah 'Kournikova' S's dainty serving technique, Lily 'Sabatini' S and her tennis fashion wear and Lucy ' Monica Seles' great smashes were wonderful to behold. It certainly wasn't a quiet event (much screaming)!
The School House boys had a great 5-a-side competition and prizes were dished out for the winning teams and top goal scorers. Thanks so much to Chuck A who organised the whole thing so expertly. The remaining girls had a fabulous treasure hunt around Bakewell. Mrs Seddon writes:
Hillcrest joined forces with Garden House girls this afternoon for a walk to Bakewell with a difference. We followed a landmark quiz which all the girls loved and threw themselves into, each team trying to out do the next. There was no single winning team, everyone was a winner for working as a team, encouraging each other and behaving exceptionally well,and we ended the afternoon with a well deserved hot chocolate at the very welcoming 'upstairs café'
After all this hard work the kids were treated to a lovely evening meal with the Northcotts and their Houseparents and so refreshed themselves for the evening service lead by Mrs Lings who spoke gently about the need to reflect on the message of Christmas. Well done to all for a brilliant first weekend back. Next weekend we are aiming for a 10 out of 10!
Posted on
Sun, January 9, 2011
by RDM