Little Canada 2011- Final morning

Mixed Emotions of wanting to stay even longer and wanting to go home to see family today. All the suitcases lined up in rows though meant that it was goodbye to our Chalets for the last time.

Baguttes were our final meal, just as well as time was tight. Here we are munching merrily and swiftly 15 minutes before the coach took us off on the 2 hour journey home.

A final thumbs up from Mario.

A final "apple in the Mouth" shot from Kendal.

and a final BIG HAND to PGL, parents who paid for all the fantastic experiences and the dedicated team of adults from MJS who helped to ensure the week ran as smoothly as possible.

All that was left after this was to get on the ferry, finish our journals and get home for a hopefully restful weekend. Well done everybody!

Little Canada 2011 day Four- Duck Weather and Discos

Sunny Tuesday, Cloudy Wednesday and down came the rain today.

But we just put on the wellies and extra layers and made our way down again to Woodside beach for Rockpooling. The spit was tempting to go and explore but the tide was against us and would have covered the spit before we had time to reach the end.

A great time was had searching the splash, Lower intertidal, and upper intertidal zones for signs of life - ragworms, crabs, anenomes, periwinkles, shrimps were the most frequent discoveries. After a quick dry off and change we became estate agents for sea creatures.

The afternoon saw us back to activities - some bounced until exhaustion on aeroball. Others entered the depths of Vines Mine in Tunnel trail, the Matrix still remains a secret mystery to all except those who entered, and the final activity of the day for some was the exhilarating ride down the zip wire.

Topping off the end of the day - the weeks most anticipated activity (well possibly not for the adults!) was the disco! Some even braved the shower before finest outfits were put on and the dancing began.

As with all school disco's the boys started on one side;

and the girls on the other!

Some things never change over time!

The trip is nearly over - 2 more activity sessions to go - although the biggest challenge of the final day is sure to be the suitcase packing!

Little Canada 2011 Day Three- Another Busy Day

Are the Days getting longer? We seem to be packing more into each one it feels. After Breakfast it was Chalet Inspection again. Here was one of today's Super Chalets. Not a boys' one unfortunately but we keep working on them.

Then off to our Morning Sessions. Some did fencing yesterday, some today. Mr. Chappell's group came out of their session unscathed.

After swordsmanship, many groups have tested their weapon skills with a bow and arrow. As ever safety was of paramount importance. So the only thing ever in danger of getting hit was the target. Even that was quite safe at first but it is great to see each of the children getting better as the session goes on.

Session was made even more fun by the challenges that were given. Here the group were trying to earn their eating utensils for dinner. Luckily nobody had to eat soup with their fingers.

Lunchtime is the big break opportunity. Football is popular for many. Had to choose the shot of this shot as nobody seems to be looking at the ball!?

The afternoon and evening were a new activity for us entitled Human Impact and Conservation. The task was all about proposing a plan for a new development on a derelict holiday park near the site.

It also involved a walk down to Woodside Beach

Back in the comfort of the classroom, all the groups got together to plan a poster and a presentation for the evening. we were particularly impressed with this colourful effort.

Down below are two very important aspects of our PGL week. Meet Mario and Kendal, our group leaders for the year. A great double act, doing a good job at keeping the children active, organised and happy. Here they were giving a little extra time to come down and be with the group during evening, post journal, chill out time.

Day Two Finding our way and scaling new heights.

The sun shone bright and it felt like it was the first signs of spring as the early morning mist was quickly burnt off and after a long (or in some cases not so long) sleep, everyone "breakfasted " well and we were ready for the busy day ahead

Different groups worked to different plans and everybody had their favourites. It was good to do Archery as that wasn't on the original list. For those who were afraid of heights some challenges started coming today but many were ready for it. The Giant Swing lifted pairs of pupils about 30 ft up in the air before they pulled a rope to plummet suddenly.

For others it was the Zip wire which provided the fun and the fear.

Meanwhile many of our mini petrol heads enjoyed the challenges of the curvy Quad bike track.

Some fun learning opportunites also form a part of our week. This afternoon for everybody it was map skills. This group is combining ideas to create their own made up island and map.

The practical challenges came when teams of five were all round site exploring six figure grid references. Which even had the teachers scratching their heads and stroking their chins at times.

The final picture is just a small clue to a madcap evening of activities and challenges which formed the "generation game". No scores on the doors(A reference for older TV viewers) but scores on the whiteboard. Here are two curious members of the audience, watching the raps.

Bin liner dresses, shoe towers and "bottom drawing"???? caused further amusement. The funky Chickens were the overall winners.

Little Canada 2011, Day1February 7th: off we go!

Rainy February skies did not dampen our enthusiasm as 44 very excited children and 5 quite excited teachers left Marchwood. Most packed lunches were eaten before we'd even left Southampton. We crossed our fingers that the sea would not be too choppy and were relieved to find the sick bucket was able to stay safely tucked away.

We arrived at Little Canada at 1:30pm and Mario and Kendal, our Group leaders for the week, left no time in getting everyone busy with an activity called Passport to the World. Which combined Map skills and Geography Knowledge. These girls are debating if Dr. Who was filmed in Wales or not.

Could you answer these ones?

Before we knew it, It was already time for evening activity. In between we had managed to sort out our chalets. All refurbished last year. Mr. Ferrero even has views over the Solent! We had eaten our tea (curry was popular) and got together to start writing our Journals.

The evening activity was called the great egg race. Where points were earned by the million for all sorts of bizarre sporting challenges.

The points were then traded in for materials to build contraptions to save a falling egg. Were any eggs saved? Find out tomorrow.