After a hearty breakfast year 7 donned their sensible shoes and backpacks, ready for an adventure. We headed onto the coach (sweet, sweet air conditioning) and headed out to the Dune de Pyla, the biggest sand dune in Europe. The Dune reaches a height of 107m, and it has spectacular views over a huge pine forest and the coast. It was also a Star Wars filming location!
We reached the base of the dune and I believe Morgan summed it up well when he said: "That dune is big. Very big." Everyone began the mammoth climb and made it to the top (even Ms Clasby and Mr Phelps who went up the steps) and enjoyed the great view from the top. After a few pictures at the top, and burying Caitlin in sand, it was then time for the annual Cranborne Dune Running championship. Year 7 went down in groups, running faster than they ever had before, desperately trying not to fall over! We all made it down to the bottom at quite a speed. We also finally answered that age old question, how much sand can you bring back in your clothing? The answer is: a lot. "I climbed up it twice and could not feel my legs at the end"- Finn Ms Clasby 26/6/2018 Evening FunFor our evening activity today we visited Mimizan, which was only 20 minutes away by coach. We ran a few errands, namely getting the biggest ice-creams that we could manage and made our way down to the beach for some sandy fun! We answered such important questions like, how much sand can you fit in a shoe? Can you slide down a dune on your belly? How can you position churros in the sand without getting them sandy? After a short ride back everyone is now tucked up in bed. We can't wait until tomorrow!
Ms Clasby 26/6/2018 Orienteering into the lake!This afternoon saw temperatures rise and sweaty faces increase as one half of the group took on the Rockley orienteering course and somehow ended up in the lake! Poor Mr Phelps, who was enjoying a leisurely paddle with Josh, was accosted by the entire group and tipped off his paddleboard!
General hilarity followed with Hayden, our instructor, encouraging all pupils to get involved in launching themselves head-first into the lake. A fun-filled afternoon had by all. 26/6/2018 Catamaran Champions Create Chaos!Monday saw the other half of our party perfect (I say this with a degree of interpretation) the art of sailing a catamaran. Engineered into groups of four, our intrepid sailors learnt the different parts of the boat and were then towed to the middle of the lake to get going.
The warm up of pirate games perhaps took away the focus from the technical aspects of the fine arts of sailing, but it wasn't long before our crews were careering across the water and racing one another to victory. Photos to follow once better wifi is available! Mrs Williams 25/6/2018 Raft Building! June 25th, 2018Another day in the sun. Today saw one group partake in a spot of raft building. The children were split into two groups and had to compete against one another to construct the best and most efficient vessel. The two groups, named 'Cheesecake' and 'something else to do with cheese' (don't ask me why - I have no idea!!) set about planning their raft. Lucy and Caitlin stepped up and took the lead role in their respective groups - Go girls! The finished rafts looked impressive but would they float?
With the theme tune to 'Pirates of the Caribbean' playing in the background, it looked promising... Oh dear... after a successful launch, Caitlin's group attempted to board their vessel only for it to begin to slowly disintegrate after less than 5 minutes in the water! This was, despite sounding disastrous, better than Lucy's group whose raft didn't even make it to the water's edge before it had decided to come apart. Undeterred, they still attempted climbing aboard. There were cries of, 'Foul play, Mrs Williams!' and, 'They've tampered with our raft - they've untied our rope!' As the lake became littered with barrels, rope and poles, the children delighted in splashing about in the beautifully warm and refreshing lake. I suspect that was their plan all along! No budding future engineers here I'm afraid! Mrs Williams 25/6/2018 Birthday wake up call!After a very busy day on the water yesterday, it went remarkably quiet at about 10pm as all our Year 7's hit the sack. Not a sound was heard until Mrs Williams crept into one tent to launch into a loud rendition of Happy Birthday for one lucky pupil! We are now all up, devoured breakfast and back out on the water for catamaran sailing and raft building.
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27/6/2018
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