More Pictures

Because the blog takes so long to upload photos, visit these sites for more pictures of our trip!!

1. http://s695.photobucket.com/albums/vv313/2009SheenMountY6/FRANCE%20TRIP/?albumview=grid

2. http://s695.photobucket.com/albums/vv313/2009SheenMountY6/FRANCE%20TRIP%202/?albumview=grid

Birthdays and Excursion

Happy Birthday Jack and Olivia!

I was a bit worried about having my birthday on school journey, but today has been great! Thanks for the presents Mum and Dad - Jack

Thanks for the ring and other presents, Mum and Dad! I'm wearing them to the disco tonight. Today has been a great birthday! - Olivia


We've had a great day today. To start we celebrated Jack and Olivia's birthdays by singing all together this morning. Then we set off on our excursion, first to Padirac to visit the caves which were absolutely stunning. We traveled all the way down and went on boats throughout the caves. After we had lunch in the park we set off to Rocamadour, a beautiful little town set in the hillside. We all went shopping and bought little gifts, trinkets and sweets! The sun has been shining all day and we've all been loving it!

Even though we leave for home tomorrow after supper, we still have a lot to look forward to. Tonight is the talent show/disco that we've been eagerly awaiting all week and tomorrow we have one group finishing up their activities on site and another group off to the lake. We can't believe how the time has flown by. We've had such fun but are looking forward to seeing familiar faces on Sunday morning!

I touched the trapeze swing twice but didn't manage to hold on. The good thing was I did it - love from Antonia

It's Thursday! The children have continued to be really great - no homesickness, no complaints, etc. They are all eating very well, and don't seem to be fed up with the French bread yet! Today two groups are on site having great fun playing games, learning orienteering and doing the most challenging activity: the trapeze. Three groups have their final day of getting wet on the lake, which Ella described as "the big water that doesn't move" as distinct from the Dordogne which must be "the small water which moves"! The children all seem to have different favourite activties: many loved the canoeing along the Dordogne, especially soaking each other and their teachers. Yesterday Sam M ( accompanied by lots of others) succeeded in pushing me (Mrs. England) into the river.
Masha wanted me to write on the blog "Teamwork is everything. If you don't cooperate you don't win" - this seems to sum up the trip as all the children are working so well together and being very supportive of each other. They had their fist pocket money allowance last night and enjoyed spending their Euros in the tuck shop, although many of them are saving their money for our excursion tomorrow, which we are all looking forward to. It is also Jack and Olivia's birthdays tomorrow and the children are excited about that - especially the promise of birthday cake in the evening! The evening will end with the disco so we will have 57 very tired children on Saturday morning, not to mention 6 tired staff!!

Wednesday Evening Updates

This is our third post today, but we're past the halfway point of our adventures in France and have so much to share with all of you at home! We've had a lovely day; here are some of the highlights!

Ava:
Hey Mum and Dad and Aaron! I love it here! i hsve been so busy with activities an havent been homesick once (but i still cant wait to see you!xxxx) love ava xxx

Georgia: HEY Mum and dad and niamh I am having a great time here today. I absailed off a huge tower it was soooo fun , i miss you all! Say hello to the fish and i hope you dont miss meto much Lots of love GEORGIA xxx(p.s when i get home can u make me some pancakes :) xxxxxxxx

Cesar: The whole trip has been really great but I especially loved being on the lake and the river. It was really fun and you got to get people all wet!

Alexandra: Hi Mum, Dad, Georgia, Daisy, Coco, Omi, Opa and Andy! I'm having a great time, went canoeing today and nearly capsized my boat. Say hi to Matilda and Pippin for me and I'll see you soon!

Lucy:
hello mum dad and jimmy, I've been doing loads of cool stuff and I've been so busy I havn't had any time to be homesick love from lucy !!!!!!xxxxxxxx p.s say french sweets are on the way

We've got a lot of exciting things still to come including a disco and day trip off site where the whole of Year 6 will be together. Hope you're all well and keep checking back for more news!

Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun

We're having a lovely sunny day here at Hameau les Ages and thought we would send a few more messages home!

Ben C-S: The mountain biking was probably the best bit of the trip so far because there were a large number of things you could do and you never got bored. My goal was to get under 1 min 30 seconds on the obstacle course and I managed to beat my goal by 2 seconds! The skill course was probably the best part because there was always something to jump over or ride across.

Ellie: Hi family! Happy Birthday George! I have really really really enjoyed canoeing. We went 16 km down the Dordogne river. Every day has been really fun and tiring and I sleep like a log! Also, we had chips for dinner the other night! Mmmmm the food is great :)

George H: hi im having a great time just fallen off my bike on mountain biking but im ok and im just doing problem solving and abseiling.

Lottie: We canoed for 16 km down the Dordogne River on Monday and on site we did the zip wire where you had to climb up metal pegs up to a very high platform and jump off with a harness on. For a second I felt like I was falling but then I felt like I was flying! The food is lovely, and I think everyone loves their rooms.
10
Ella: Hi Mom, Dad and Ethan! The food has been really nice, and all the activites were great. Yesterday we went to the lake and we built rafts and my team's raft floated!

Immy: HI mum and dad and luke!!! I am having s really great time and I am in a room with all my best friends(georgia, ava, ellie, lucy!). Today I have done trapezing and jumped from a really high pole! I didnt get to hold on to the handle but I had great fun anyway!! I am really missing you and will hopefully write on the blog later on in the week!
LOve
IMMY
XXX

Miles: Dear Mum, Dad, Emily and Topaz, I am having a fantastic time in France and missing you loads. The best bit so far has been the trapeze because I managed to jump AND hang on to the bar! My room is really nice and the beds are really comfortable.

Olli: hi mum and dad hope you r having a great time at home because i am here hoping to see you soon. i really liked kayaking because we did it on the lake and the kayaks were easy to handle lol

Wed 10 Jun

Good morning parents and friends! We had a great night full of fun activities yesterday and have a big day planned with half of the group mountain biking and absailing on site and the other half canoeing down the Dordogne river. Here are a few notes from some of the children:

Jack: The best part so far was finding out who we were sharing rooms with because it was really exciting. Also, I've been having a great time with the activities, especially canoeing. We saw great sights and it was really fun working as a team.

Sam T: I had lots of fun on the zip wire because it was fast and high. I was quite scared on the Trapeze but I was glad I did it. I was worried about the coach journey but I was fine! I'm having lots of fun and also looking forward to seeing my family when we get home.

Alex H: So far on the trip, I have loved doing the canoeing on the river and also the sailing with James because we got to get on the water and go really fast. Also, I am really looking forward to mountain biking today, and the time I'd like to beat on the obstacle course is 1 min 30 sec. I'll let you know how I do!

Emma: Hello! I'm missing my family, but I've enjoyed myself. I most enjoyed enjoyed getting my letter from home and I really liked the coach journey down here. In ultimate frisbee, I learned how to catch a Frisbee with my nose, elbow, finger and chest! Hope to see you soon!

Maisie: Hello! I have enjoyed all the activities that I have been up to and one of the most best things was the zip wire because I'm not really afraid of its and it was just really fast and fun. In canoeing I jumped into the river twice!

Alice: Hi! I'm missing home but I'm really enjoying myself. And my favourite activity so far has been the canoeing and we canoeing roughly 13.5 kilometres! I jumped into the freezing cold river. I'm very tired but having loads of fun.

Tuesday news

Hi all. It is still very changeable here clouds and then warm sunshine. No rain yet today though!The children are having a great time - no homesickness and really excellent behaviour from all. A few messages from some of the children on site today:
James T - If my family were here I'd stay for ever.
Fintan - Sailing and archery were brilliant
Antonia- Sailing was great, capzizing was fun
Masha - Everything is amazing, I am really enjoying it.
Megan - It's the most fun I've ever had. (and she did the zip wire today!)
Ben B - The archry was my favourite so far
Max - I loved the climbing wall.
Sophie - I enjoyed pushing Max off in sailing.
Alex B - It's new and exciting. Sailing and Archery were best; abseiling and climbing were scary.
Sam P - If I could live here I'd be happy but I'd mmiss my family.
Hebe - I loved the pirate games in sailing; I stole Mr Gilbert's oar
Javed - I loved the mountain biking - the skills course was great
Ceasar - I am really enjoying everything
Conor - Sailing was great - I liked the fact that your actions affected everyone.
Finnbar - Sailing and abseiling are best so far
Sam M - I liked getting my cards from my mum and dad
Ruby - It's cool
Isobel - Sailing was fun

sorry there aren't yet comments from all the children - they are all so busy! Today three groups are at the lake. The children are eating lots and enjoying the endless supply of sweets! We have not been able to connect to the internet on the laptops we brought with us so we'll do our best to keep h ebog up to date.

Tuesday

Greetings from France. All is still going amazingly well, the children are behaving perfectly and are having a brilliant time. Today some of them are off to the lake for sailing activities and some are staying on site for their archery session. They are eating and sleeping really well and are being a credit to Sheen Mount.

Monday 8 June - Day 2 In France!

Hi Parents and Friends

We've had a great day today, with half of the group out canoeing on the Dordogne river and the other half spending the day at lake Dragonboat Racing and Sailing. The day started out looking a bit grim weather-wise, but we were lucky to have the sun come out during our activities.

"It's been really good and we're looking forward to the next activities" - Ben B & Fintan

"I was really nervous about capsizing in the river, but after I jumped in I realized it was great fun!" Immy

"We played a game called UFO (Unidentified Floating Object) where you go around in the group and talk about things people have done during the day. Then you nominate someone to jump into the river and shout UFO, UFO while they jump in" Ella Ijaz

"It was really cool canoeing because we all had to work together and it wasn't just one person doing all the work. We all had to put the effort in. Also I really enjoyed the trapeze because you had to use your effort and climb up. At the end it felt rewarding when you jumped off!" Duncan C-S

We will try to leave a message every day to let you know what we've been up to.

Bonjour from Hameau les Ages!

We've arrived safe and sound in Hameau les Ages this morning after a long coach and ferry journry. Everyone is doing well and has participated in some amazing activities so far today including Zip Wire, Trapeze, Absailing and Climbing. We'll all be going to sleep early tonight to get ready for a big day on the lake and river tomorrow. Keep checking back for more updates!

Pictures from top to bottom:
-Photos from the ferry and coch journeys
-Getting ready for absailing!

Only 3 Days to Go!!

Hello All!

There are only three days to go until our long-awaited trip to the Dordogne, and the excitement and anticipation is building! Today we've had one of our last group meetings before the journey, where we received our PGL luggage tags and discussed any last-minute concerns we might have about the trip, leaving everyone excited. We're all looking forward to a great adventure! We'll be updating the blog with details of our activities along with pictures (and hopefully videos!) so you can join in on our fun. 

That's all for now; see you on Saturday at 5 PM!