Sports Day

For the first time in years sports day was able to go ahead on the date that was planned and we had lovely weather.
The morning section was partly indoors in the arena at the Picky Centre and some activities on the track outside.
Our potted sports consisted of Beat the goalie, Bocchia, javelin throwing and curling. There were parachute games and Westray dodgeball also inside.

bocchia

curling

Beat the goalie

Throwing the javelin

Parachute fun!

Westray dodgeball

Outside at the race track we had some rugby training activities.

In the afternoon it was time for some team competition! There was a great atmosphere of sportsmanship and lots of encouragement from team mates!

flat race

3 legged race

bib, hat and hoop

sack race

skipping race

and the winners are ...
Ayre!
Team captains Ronan and Abbie make their thank you speeches.

Here they are with the trophy.

P7 also had responsibility for helping to organise by running with the scores and returning equipment to the start line - it kept them very busy! 

p7 go to Lyness!

We caught the Houton ferry to Lyness on 30th May to round up our World War II topic from last term. The Scapa Flow visitor centre is a great place to visit and has so much to see that we didn't get round all the exhibits.
We were lucky with the weather and it made the trip even more enjoyable. 
We started with a nice walk to the cemetery where we investigated some headstones and got an idea of scale of loss. The cemetery has a special atmosphere and it made us realise how young so many of the lost servicemen were. It was interesting to see graves of men from other countries too.

On the boat

Gathering information from the headstones

Big guns!

Alanah trying to picture bomb!

We went into the empty oils tank to watch some videos of Lyness during the wars and learn a bit about the site.

Inside the oil tank.

We didn't have long left in the Interpretation Centre but there are many interesting exhibits.

Planning manoeuvres! 

Trying the uniforms ...

...and the tea!

What is this strange contraption?

The fun we had!

I have attempted to make slideshows out of the photos that were taken last week. With 5 different cameras snapping away there is a considerable amount to sort through! Apologies if some of the photos seem duplicated.No fancy editing either I'm afraid - just pictures and music!
I have split the slideshows into activities to make it easier to upload as they would be too big otherwise.

Home again, home again!

Well that's our adventure over and just photos and videos to sort out now. Here are some final pics and the rest will follow when I get time.
Our last evening consisted of a bonfire, barbecue and outdoor games (in the dark!)

 We ate our breakfast and tea mostly in the conservatory.
Breakfast was usually something cooked (bacon, sausages, pancakes), cereal, porridge, toast and juice so set us up well for the day!

 We made our own packed lunches and ate them in the chalets when we were on a break from activities. We had a choice of fillings for sandwiches, crisps, fruit and biscuits - some people made an extra sandwich for later.

Every teatime we got a three course meal - all very tasty! There was either juice or soup, main course and pudding so no excuse to go hungry!

 At suppertime we got a drink and biscuit, tray bake or cookie. We could also have a hot drink at any time in the chalets and the shop was open for snacks every evening.

Residents of chalet A - minus James who was under the weather at the time.

Chalet B

Chalet C

Chalet D

Everyone (minus James)

We woke up to snow on Friday morning!

Day 4

Well our last day of activities - cold and occasional spots of rain but nothing to dampen enthusiasm. Although we did detect a slight reluctance to leave our warm beds at first - definitely not our earliest morning! 
Everyone started off with having a go at the Silver Maze - a series of different challenges that could only be achieved with team work! What great fun and laughs we had!

Code breaking

Magic flute - the idea is to plug the holes, fill the tube with water and try to get the silver egg - but the bucket has holes too ...

So we got a bit wet!

A bit tricky to reach this one without touching the ground!

This is a minefield!

Who can remember the route through the grid?

Teamwork and trust required for the blindfold trail!

Definitely the blind leading the blind!

Martyna:"I can't see and haven't a clue where we're going but this is such fun!"

 Now to get everyone through without touching the web!

A wobbly rope bridge!

Followed by a tunnel.

So close to the mud George!

Oh dear James!

We have to do what?

A tight squeeze!

Now that's a great way to travel!

Watch your fingers!

They have no idea what's going to happen next!

Oh dear - another soaking!

The whole maze was such good fun and the team work was great to see.

The centre has a brilliant climbing wall that was full of different challenges.

warming up!

Abseiling - up a very large and very old tree.

Singing Happy Birthday to Abbie.

James: "Just imagine it's your mum up there and you have to rescue her."

That did the trick!

The face of achievement!

The view from the top - look how high up I am!

The abseiling was a great challenge for most of us but what a wonderful sense of achievement when we got there! Again there was much encouragement between people and celebration of success.

A barbecue tonight will bring a fun end to a fun week and I can imagine we will have a peaceful bus ride up the road as everyone will be worn out!