A sunny skyline awaited the children this morning and the Fairthorne field was a beacon of warmth for them to undertake their land-based activities. The climbing tower was a hive of activity and children also ventured into the forest for Camo and Trekking which proved a favourite for many. The young adventurers loved being able to hide out of sight from the adults and each other and let’s say they got to be, “At one with nature!” A mud pack “eu-natural” from the forest floor is definitely the way forward! Just look out for them being snuck into your weekly food shop!!!

Children also used their communication skills within a set of Initiative Tests where they actually showed some decent lateral thinking and solid rationalising which was impressive given the previous day’s insights into towel drying!!!

Again,the day culminated with the classic Fairthorne D.I.S.C.O. with a rendition of YMCA to close! Birthday cake was had to celebrate the birthdays of Bella, Neto and Josh and children belted out the birthday song twice! Dancer of the night has to go to birthday girl Neto who exhibited real natural rhythm and musicality!

Children are currently recharging those batteries again ready to face a day on the water tomorrow.

Catch up again tomorrow for another debrief!

The Year 6 Team

The creative juices are flowing and there are some budding film makers within our midst.

Things kicked off this morning with a room inspection for the ages! Children were given 15 minutes after breakfast to sort their rooms so that they stayed on top of their housekeeping duties. As it turned out, the adults were pleasantly surprised (on the whole!) but one quote gave the adults a good chuckle. When a child was asked where they were going to place their wet towel in order for it to dry, a response that occured more than once was, “I’m gonna stick it back in my bag,” – with a proud look and nod to the teacher that they were able to give a full answer! We did, no doubt, show them that they could drape it over the end of their bed as an alternative! Or that there were four metal hooks on the back of their bedroom door for this kind of situation!

Activities were a plenty today, with groups gracing the lake in the shape of kayaking where teamwork, communication and awareness of others were paramount to ensure safety of each other. The children loved getting wet and on the whole, the weather held out. The day’s events culminated in the second teacher-led activity in the sports hall where an inter-class Dodgeball match took place – Penguins vs Seals. What stood out tonight for us refereeing and watching was the honesty of the children that were caught and the fact that the children remembered the tactics from last night too! Penguin class ran away with a rampant victory in a fiercely fought contest! As if this wasn’t enough fun for the night, after this, a group of children had the unique opportunity to watch the Portsmouth-Coventry Championship football match up in the dining hall on the big screen whilst other children played board games in their dorm area. Funny what can evolve from one small discussion a child had with our Fairthorne Group Leader. Great, gregarious qualities Antoni! 

Finally, children seem to have settled into their sleep well at the time of writing this, ready for what tomorrow brings.

Write again tomorrow.

The Year 6 Team 

Taking mildly less risks than the Infamous Alex Honnold, St Peter’s abseils:

Day 1 at Fairthorne conquered!

The children and adults have all arrived safely to Fairthorne Manor where we were greeted by some strong British rainfall!!! No-one let this dampen their spirits and the children pushed on through their first and second menu of activities and into dinner-time with full verve and vigour. Having settled very well into the patter of the day here at Fairthorne, children competed in a House Dodgeball Competition in the sports hall for 90 minutes this evening, participating in a round robin event that then led into a Final and a 3^rd and 4^th place playoff. St John Paul II House – Blue House – ended up being the victors, beating Oscar Romero House (Yellow House) in a tight final. They were treated to constructive feedback after each match, where referees of Chief Coach Crozier and Line Judge Land distilled what they had just witnessed! It seemed like great fun was had by all and there were some clear strategies that bore success – “Catch the slower balls, dodge the faster balls and get the better players out first!”

Presently as we write this, all children are in their rooms recharging their batteries to go again tomorrow.

More updates to follow tomorrow night!

The Year 6 Team

What a day! We were so fortunate to have Ellie- May Sheridan and Billy Jenkins from BBC to series Dodger come and spend the afternoon with us! After a time of Q and A, they helped direct our Mary Poppins show… Their advice was helpful but really their whole manner, warmth and enthusiasm for life was inspirational.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/year6stpeters

Wow! What an afternoon demonstrating exceptional skill, determination and bravery!

Our Spelling Bee finalists took to the stage to be tested on both words learnt in preparation and words unrehearsed.

45 minutes of spelling words out loud in front of the whole year group whittled down the contestants till we were left with a winner and a runner up!

Many congratulations to all members of Year 6 who took part and most importantly raised vital funds for our chosen charity Together For Short Lives.

We investigated through answering a series of questions e.g. Is there anything to stop the magma? How far away from the place of eruption?

We fed back our findings to each other.

We decided the safest place was at the entrance gate near the main road because there were objects to block the lava and there was also the possibility of asking for support from other civilians.