Water Park Info
Journal - 2016
Here is the journal from last year. Visit the WATER PARK LIVE! page during the week for daily updates including photos and a diary. While away, we try to update each day by 11pm in the evening, with a summary of the day's activities. Click on the links to the other years to get an idea of what to expect.
Day 1 - Monday A Full Day
At the time of writing, all of the children are quietly asleep in bed... or being very quiet at least. The children have finished their evening activity, (a game called ‘Aliens’ which involved a lot of running around though the ground in the dark with their torches) got ready for bed, had their evening drinks and have concluded a day which was long at both ends.
The journey was a little longer than we would have wished for, but we still managed to fit in a good afternoon’s activity. The weather was sunny right the way through
So you know what the children have been doing each day, here are the groups:
Brown Pike
Cara, Orla, Ricky, Kier, Aidan, Liam, Ryan
Swirl How
Carys, Isabella, Matthew, Tommy, Fred, Finley, Leonardo, Nethara
Wetherlam
Izzy, Maria, Christian, Sam, John, Cian, Joshua
Coniston
Imogen, Grace, Aimee, Maddie, Fintan, Thomas, Nathan, Jamie
Brown Pike went out on Coniston Water in a large Canoe called a voyager, and paddled a distance down the lake, with optional activities such as dipping heads in the less-than-warm water. Coniston spent their time on the orienteering course around the extensive grounds, competing in pairs. Wetherlam went mini-mountain climbing, exploring the land behind Water Park, occasionally finding that their welly boots were not tall enough to keep them dry. Swirl How group got camouflaged as they took part in a in a search and capture activity, using their stealth and silence?!?
The evening meal of home-made pizza went down well with all of the children, and all of the crockery survived the washing up.
So now it’s quiet, and we look forward to Tuesday, with all groups doing Ghyll Scrambling at some point, along with climbing, orienteering and rope activities
Day 2 - Tuesday
MORNING UPDATE: Everybody has had a good night's sleep, and is eating well!
Swirl How
In the morning, Swirl How went Ghyll Scrambling, in water freshly melted from the snow in the mountains above. Their instructor, Ian, was impressed with their team-work, both encouraging and physically helping each other. In the afternoon, the children went canoeing on Coniston Water, and played water games involving balancing and trying to stay as dry as possible.
Coniston
During the morning, the children spent time on the climbing wall, including the overhanging sections. They played instruction games and competed against and cooperated with each other in practising for their Ghyll Scrambling during the afternoon. Whilst on the afternoon activities, the children unanimously decided to jump in the water, and equally unanimously decided to push Mr Hooton in. Thomas, without any help, managed to loose his welly boot in 10 feet of freezing water, which was later retrieved by Rachel, the group leader. The general conclusion was the it was not as warm as Barbados.
Weatherlam
In the morning the children had a fantastic morning Ghyll Scrambling with lots of teamwork and resilience shown, including instances of total immersion! During the afternoon, they canoed across Coniston Water, and followed this by playing various games.
Brown Pike
In the morning, the children did orienteering, using compasses, maps and their initiative. They paired up to see who could find as many control points as possible. During the afternoon they made their way up Church Beck, North of Coniston for their Ghyll Scrambling. They showed their knowledge of geology on the way, and enjoyed jumping in or indeed falling in on occasions.
After the evening meal, the children went out on a night-time walk, with torches, which they had to switch off at times to navigate in the dark. The evening also consisted of uphill races in the dark. All the children appeared tired at the end of the day. The teachers are hoping this is really the case.
Day 3 - Wednesday - Swirl How
During the morning, the children undertook indoor climbing. The toughest challenge was the overhang, but it did not defeat them. In the afternoon, they went sailing and negotiated the blustery gusts while navigating a challenging course set out for them. The session finished with the ritual jumping off the jetty.
Coniston
The children were on their Journey Day today. It was decided to climb a local mountain called 'Caw'. The journey got more interesting when then children climbed above the level where the snow was still lying, giving the opportunity for snowball fights, or in the case of Mr Hooton, 'Sitting Duck' target practice. Carrying on the winter theme, an impromptu toboggan run was created. Good views from the top!
Wetherlam
The children sailed in the morning, using the yellow catamarans in a decent strength wind. Nobody got wet until they got the opportunity to do so off the jetty. During the afternoon, they headed for the climbing wall, which included games such as climbing limbo.
Brown Pike
Today was the children's Journey Day. They started by climbing up Brock Barrow, which involved climbing up steep crags. They then descended to Coniston water, where they picked up the sailing boats in pairs, helped by a northerly wind.
Day 4 - Thursday - Swirl How
After a short minibus ride to Coniston, we began our ascent up The Old Man of Coniston, the highest mountain of the area. The children were delighted to see the snow-covered mountain and after three hours they reached the summit. Despite the challenges of the climb, they had plenty of energy left for sledging down in the deep snow.
Coniston
The children started the day by preparing the sailing boats and practised in the quiet sheltered bay before heading out into the more exposed area of the lake. They made good progress sailing against the prevailing wind and proved good at keeping close to each other. In the afternoon, they all climbed the abseiling tree and enjoyed the views before descending. They finished off with climbing activities on the high table.
Wetherlam
The children were on their Journey Day. They went up a mountain called Caw, then down the other side into Cathedral Quarry. All of the children enjoyed the day, including the views of the beautiful countryside. Campbell, their instructor was impressed with the children's positive attitude throughout the day.
Brown Pike
The children spent the morning doing Climbing, including High Ropes and Peter Pan. Then, after lunch, they went kayaking on the Lake and played various games to use the skills they had learnt earlier.
The Final Evening
The children celebrated with a talent show and disco, with the additional feature of a performance of live surgery to provide Mr Hooton with a replacement knee, to enable him to be more mobile on future ventures. The outcome of the surgery is as yet un clear, but what is certain is that the children have had a great week, which finishes off tomorrow with their final morning's activity.
Day 5 - Friday - The Final Day
This morning, the children took part in a number of different activities. Wetherlam worked on the high ropes and then took a voyager canoe down the lake. Brown Pike took part in climbing challenges while Swirl How experienced a mix of high and low ropes. Coniston were the only group to dice with getting wet on the final morning as they Kayaked across the Lake. The activities finished with lunch and the traditional certificate presentation. We then all said our goodbyes...one final photo and then onto the coach to head back to Essex. Year 6's topic this term is called 'Stronger' and there is no doubt that this week has had the desired effect!