Year 4 Residential 2017
Wednesday
After a smooth journey, we arrived at the Kingswood Centre where we were met by our group leader Jasmin. Everyone was given a tour of the site, and then it was off to the accommodation to make the beds and unpack. Dinner was next - Pizza and chips (yum!).
Our first activity was indoor climb. Mr Trodd and Miss Fish were amazed by some of the climbing abilities of the children. Some children whizzed up the climbing wall like Spiderman! One of the instructors taught us a fun song about a goldfish called Bob (which got a little bit annoying for Miss Fish after a while!!).
After climbing, we had our first evening entertainment - Mini Olympics! A wide range of races and games that everyone enjoyed.
Finally, we all went back to the dining hall for a hot chocolate - and then it was time for bed. We wonder what exciting activities await us tomorrow?
Thursday
Everyone woke up bright and early (far too early in the opinion of Miss Fish and Mr Trodd!!) and after a hearty breakfast embarked on a full day of activities. In the morning, everyone had a go at the 3G Swing and fencing. Children conquered their fears and challenged themselves to go as high up the 3G swing as possible, and after the initial 'scare' as the swing released, there was a lot of smiling and laughing. In fencing, the children learned about the origins of this sport, and had a go using a plastic sword.
After lunch, the next item on the agenda was indoor initiatives. The children were challenged with a variety of puzzles and riddles which required thinking 'outside the box' and Mr Trodd and Miss Fish were very impressed with how they were able to tackle puzzles such as "Which letter of the alphabet is full of water?". Then, it was on to another big hit of the trip - the aerial runway where the children felt like they were flying as they zoomed down the zip wire.
The group split into two to try two other activites - AeroBall (think of a mix between basketball and trampolining) and Laser tag. Mr Trodd particularly enjoyed this as he was given a special laser gun that could defeat other people with just a single shot! Unfortunately, Mr Trodd left the memory card for the camera in the laptop and wasn't able to take any pictures of laser tag (sorry!).
Finally, after dinner the evening activity of 'Scrapheap Challenge' gave the children the task of working in a team to create something that could protect a water balloon when dropped from a height. All the children had to use was cardboard and sellotape. If any of the water balloons survived they would be allowed to throw them at the group leader (Jasmin)! Sadly, after testing, none of the water balloons survived (and you can see the wet remains in the pictures).
And (at last!) it was time to go to bed to recharge ready for the final morning of activiites.
Here are some pictures from Thursday!
Friday
For some children it was much more difficult to wake up on our final morning! After breakfast, we packed our bags and tidied the rooms before heading off for the final activities.
We began with 'Shelter Build' where in a special woodland the children learnt how to make a structure out of sticks and leaves. They thought about how our ancestors had to use the world around them to provide for their needs and created some very impressive structures!
Then, the children faced a final challenge - abseiling! Some children had to conquer their fears of heights and stepping 'over the edge'! Once again, Mr Trodd and Miss Fish were amazed by the courage of the children - even those who decided to just climb the abseil tower to look at the view.
Before everyone knew it, it was time to have lunch, collect our bags and say goodbye to the Kingswood Centre. The children had a fantastic experience, and represented Westcourt School brilliantly (as we knew they would).
