Friday Morning

The last entry of this monumental journey. The kids loved the disco last night and shock horror!- All the dorms won kitkats. Many even turned their lights out themselves, well before 10pm!

Mr.Reed's clear out this morning has been as efficient as BMW engine, with all kids packing their bags and stripping their beds way before the deadline.

Drizzle and wet grass this morning has created some moans, but its not cold! 6R are going through their paces on the leap of faith as a final activity and the others are strewn about across the campus. I'm off to hopefully defeat the other half of 6H in archery, but I think there's another teacher waiting for me as well to provide some stiff competition.

Hopefully everything will run on time and only one more Kingswood meal to endure, the glory of a packed lunch!!

Signing off.........

Thursday evening

Another really good day. The first spots of rain and cold came in this evening, with cries of "I'm cold!" Well I don't know, kids these days, they don't know how lucky they've been. They haven't had a true IOW experience, we're bringing them in January next year!!

The kids have all just gone off the Disco, where unfortunately I won't be throwing too many moves. I am still wallowing in my archery victory, although a certain young Mr. Blackett in my class ran me very close. I've got the other half of the class to defeat tomorrow-you can't let those competitive instincts slip, just because you're off the mainland.

The cakes have been consumed tonight by 6Q and 6H. With 6H having a rather tasty carrot cake to munch their way through! The bags have been packed -it was a bribe from Mr.Reed otherwise no disco! Mostly boys have not managed to realise that if the clothes came in the bag they will go back in it! 1 boy brought me a bin liner full tonight saying he just couldn't fit his dirty clothes in. Some boys also discovered a thing called running water tonight, they were either sprucing themselves up for the disco or for the return home..... I'll let you decide!

For those with older siblings you are going to have a bit of a shock and disappointment that the clothes you sent in the hope of being destroyed have in fact not been!

Right some thoughts from our lovely children: Birthdays first.

Jonathan 6H:

Dorm sang happy birthday as I woke up. I did climbing which I really enjoyed. There was a slant which was quite hard, but I liked the challenge. Balance beam was fun but really high up! It was quite windy as well which made it even more worrying.

Having my birthday in the IOW was weird not being with my family, but it was good spending the whole day with my friends. (He loved the presents as well, mum and dad)

Katharina 6Q:

I woke up and everyone sang happy birthday and everyone wanted me to sit with them at breakfast, which was great. I did 3G swing with Vlada and helped her overcome her fear of heights. Low ropes and orienteering were both great, although we got a bit confused with orienteering. I was at first a bit sad about having my birthday away from home, but everyone has been really supported and I am really happy that I did it. Most of us in the dorm have felt a little home-sickness at one stage or another but we've helped each other through.

Alex 6R:

It's been great! Had to make my own bed for a change. I've been doing loads of good activities. I've loved the adrenaline rush activities such as 3G swing. I'd like to stay a bit longer but looking forward to going home. Our group has been really good and we've worked together well.

Mariella 6H:

I've had a great time. I went to the top of 3G swing with Julia and plummeted down really fast at an amazing speed. My dorm has been a bit small but cosy when everyone is in there. I've made lots of friends with people from other classes and I'm sad to leave!

So, there we go, last long blog. Hopefully get in a short one tomorrow. Fingers crossed that the A3 isn't up to any tricks and we'll be back between 4-4.30pm.

Don't stock up on any haribo sweets or kitkats! I'm off for a cup of tea ;) (or maybe sample some of the Wilton's kind gift!)

Thursday morning

Well, I have the weather forecast abilities of Michael Fish, the sky is blue and sunny and we are all still nice and warm!
The birthday boy and girl (Jonathan 6H, Katherina 6Q) have both had some presents and a happy birthday rendition, the class awaits for the shared gateau tonight!
Hold the front pages-the boys have won some kitkats! Not only did they manage to not talk after 10pm, but they didn't start talking at 6.15am! (not all boys I would like to add!) Mr.Reed's wake up was so quiet this morning (this was so that they all wouldn't start charging about at 7am!) We've even had some falling back to sleep.
All children survived the murder mystery!

The infamous nightline has been tackled by a few groups this morning. To my delight there were 2 Honeywell groups in there at the same time-double trouble for myself! Although I think my reputation is going before me on this now and the kids know what's coming. To show how warm it really is, during the hose off at the end many are deliberately putting their faces in it to clear the mud off. I do stress the word deliberately, although sometimes the hose does have a mind of its own.

1 more activity before lunch, then 3 this afternoon, before the much awaited disco! Then 2 more tomorrow-not that anyone is counting down of course!
We have really been at the forefront of healthy eating this week, when we gave the dorm prizes and the sandcastle prizes out at the same time this morning. 1 girl in my class asked if she could get a glass of water before the 1st activity as she had just had 8 fingers of kitkat!!

On one other note, during our sessions off, the teachers have managed 8 runs and 6 walks between us all. Miss Blake and Mr.Warbis really put the record in as they put in a 1hr 45min stint across the coastal path-would like to say this is because we are extra healthy, but the reality is we have eaten so much stodge its just necessary and its great to escape Prison Kingswood, sorry Camp Kingswood.
Quotes later.

Wednesday Evening

A really good, energy filled day! The very exciting 3G swing has been tried and tested and the wait was very much worth it!! It was a day for the girls. As the 6Q girls easily defeated the boys in team tech and the 6H girls were the easy winners in the problem solving task with the tyres!! A certain male twin in 6Q did his best to take his quad completely out of the course, but the barriers won!-we were hoping he wasn't trying to completely escape! Weather hasn't been as sunny as yesterday, but still really warm. Have to prepare ourselves for the onslaught of some cold and rain tomorrow-however we've been so lucky so can't complain. Mr.Reed has just enforced the strictest of room inspections, with unbelievably all the children rising to the task and making the grade.
Here's the boys comments from today:
Tom 6R:3G swing was amazing, real adrenaline rush!! Problem solving was really good as we had to work together. Team tech was pretty similar but we had to build things instead of solve. Dorm has got loads of space has we only have 2 bunks (editor note: this doesn't mean there room is tidy or that they have won any kitkats!!) I really like our group as we all work really well together.
George 6H:3G swing was massive fun, I was a bit nervous at first but when I got up there it was really fun. I had to pull the chord and let us go-James was just squealing. Zip wire was great as I'm not that great with heights, but I knew I'd already been that high with abseil, so when I got to the top I just went for it. I like the food although maybe its not that good for me! (you're right there George!!) Lovely roast dinner tonight though!
Ewan 6Q: Balance beam was really cool, climbing to the top and walking into the middle and leaning back. The way 3G swing just went straight back down and you started swinging was amazing. I have a really good dorm-lots of people have fitted in to such a small space. My favourite food has been pasta.
So 3 satisfied customers there. I can personally recommend the 3g swing as well, although I'm not sure that Sam D-S in my class was to enthralled at spending the highlight of his week on a swing with his teacher! Some great photos and videos been taken, but you''ll have to wait for our return to view them. Right, I'm off to murder mystery, hopefully I'll find a few volunteers to mysteriously murder!

Wednesday Morning Blog.

Some quotes from the girls about yesterday:

Start off with the birthday girl in 6H, Renee:

I had a great birthday, there was a banner in my room when I woke up from my room mates and they all had a small present to give me, which was great. The dorm is really good fun.
I loved quad biking because I didn't crash and I overcame my fear of heights in abseiling. I learnt loads during the trip down the cave. The best part of the day was the beach as I got to make sandcastles! In the evening I had some cake with all my class.

Now, another class-Alice 6R:
I really enjoyed zip wire, it was scary but really fun. The 1st go the instructor pushed me, but then I let myself go the second time. I loved night line, it was muddy and I was blind-folded. We first played a game called find the animal noise-which was really funny! The dorms have really thin walls, but we have won our kit-kats!
I love free time as well as I get to play basketball and the boys will even let us play!!

Finally, Hannah 6Q:
I liked leap of faith the best, it was really scary, but I managed to get all the way to the top. I also really liked caving, but it hurt my back a bit as it was underground. The go-karts went really fast, but unfortunately you had to slow down at the corners.
I really like the fame game evening activity, as we got to do silly things in front of an audience.


Well, there we go, the girls seem to be having a great time. Quotes from the boys later today.

The sun is out and everyone is having a great time, all children are on activities-no sickness!! 6H have sampled the amazing 3G swing, with video evidence-even of the teachers.

A few more kit-kats won by the girls, the boys haven't quite reached those dizzy heights yet!

We were interrupted in the staffroom last night at around 9.30pm with a knock at the door and "Come quick, there is spider in a room and we need some help". Needless to say sympathy wasn't in great supply from the teachers, although Miss Blake, being a trained first aider tackled the hideous problem!!

Tuesday evening - lovely day

Tuesday evening.

Well, a pretty amazing day. If I tell you that I never put a pair of gloves or a hat on, you will know the weather has been amazing. Culminating in a sandcastle competition and beach cricket until the sun disappeared behind the cliffs at 5.45pm.

Some groups have had an adrenaline filled day, others have been taking it lightly and preparing themselves for the challenges ahead. Honeywell children are certainly not ones to keep to the stereotypes. We've had girls driving full speed, without locating the brake, in go karts... straight into the tyres! and boys refusing to even attempt the real heart in the stomach effort of the 'leap of faith'. We've been very impressed with the effort children have been putting in, we had a 100% attempt by 6H at the leap of faith and abseiling. Whilst 6Q have been going down the caves and 6R have been tackling the teacher's favourite-nightline. The hose that Mr.Reed was using suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own whilst he was cleaning children and their muddy boots!

We've had all children out and about today, with a few carrying minor injuries or sickness, but battling on through in order to make all the activities.

Special mention to many of the girls in all three classes in the sandcastle competition. Unfortunately it turned into a bit of a 'sludge competition' due to the sand being so wet. Where were the boys I here you ask? Well, there was a football, a cricket set and some stones to be thrown.........

The shop has taken a complete hammering today and when I say our Children have strictly been following the 5 a day rule, that would be sweets and packets of, rather than fruit!

The teachers have been throwing themselves into activities all over the place, but for most the lure of the sun outside was far greater than a dip down the cave. Unfortunately Mr. Warbis attempt at the Zip wire, made him realise why some of the activities are designed for children and not adults of the over 6ft variety.

6H have just sung Happy Birthday to Renee and helped demolish the gateau.

Cinema tonight and then hopefully a few more kitkat's earnt than last night!

Fingers crossed for the sun tomorrow, although its not looking too hopeful and then we will batten down the hatches for the expected rain later in the week!

I will bring some children tomorrow, but they had all disappeared before I started the hike to the internet connection!

Apologies if updates aren't as instant as expected, but this is having to go via email before being posted on the blog, due to some lovely technical issues!

Tuesday morning

Slight technical issues on the IOW here, but hopefully a combination of technology and communication between here and Honeywell, the blog will be updated!
After an amazingly smooth journey down the A3 into Portsmouth and a comfortable ferry ride, we arrived at our base for the week, Kingswood.
Some children realised that bringing the kitchen sink wasn t quite worth it as they struggled up the stairs with their suitcases. The horrendous site of an un-made bed was awaiting them. Lots of promises and favours were then called in for the 4 children who could actually make the bed.
The first meal was consumed and we set off for the evening activity of Fame Game. There were comparisons with the Royal Variety Performance, but really only in the fact that there was some sort of performance going on.
The children rushed back to their dorms to find out the result of the first dorm inspection, to realise that Mr. Reed was taking on the guise of the strictness of an ofsted inspector and things like 'creased duvets' had lost them a couple of marks!
Light went out at 10pm and probably 3 children were asleep 30 minutes later! Those who were going to the 'toilet' realised that the teachers threats of standing outside their rooms until they fall asleep was a reality. I ve decided to write a book on my returns on the memoirs of the IOW, as I have never heard so much gossip in my life. Either that or threaten to tape their conversations and embarrass them in later life!
The 7am curfew was carefully kept to, apart from they all lost 45 minutes on their watches somewhere in the night and decided to risk 6.15am-oh, the kit-kats that have been lost as a result!
Children s Comments later on their first full day, including the birthday girl Renee (6H). Off to the beach as well, for hopefully a bit of a sandcastle competition and beach cricket!And we got a new activity added in called 3G swing, which has replaced circus skills. It sounds not to unlike a mini-bungee!! There are some fears to be overcome in the next 24 hrs, especially from 1 of my groups who are off to do the leap of faith first thing!!