St John Ogilvie – Red Team

We all feel that we have worked hard and achieved a lot today. First we were off out on the sea to do kayaking. Everyone seemed to enjoy being out on the water in our kayaks although it was hard work. As soon as we got into the water Lauren capsized her kayak and had to start all over again. The next time she managed to get away from the slip way but still managed to capsize! Luckily Matt helped her this time so she didn’t have to come back to shore. We got taught how to make a raft in which everyone had to line up beside each other and grab each other’s boats. This was really tricky but we got quicker with practise. We all struggled with our paddles at first but then we got used to them. Megan did really well and said her biggest achievement today was when she beat Mrs Hamilton in a race! We also played a game of Homer and Bart tig that was fun and Erin H won! When it was time to head back, Bethany and Dylan got stuck on the rocks and Martin had to help get them out. Just before it was time to finish we were allowed to capsize our boats and we all got soaked. It was freezing!

After lunch it was time to go to the climbing wall. Some of us were very scared but we all encouraged each other to do our best. Callum was a great belay partner and worked the ropes really well. Dylan sang a victory song after he made it to the top of the orange route, “We are the champions…”! The Red team were then challenged to climb the wall blindfolded! We had to work together to give the climbers instructions. Rebecca fell off the wall and spun round and around banging into the wall constantly. It was really funny!

A swan has nested right in front of the centre and has been sitting on her nest for weeks. Finally today we have spotted some cygnets! Mrs Barr counted 7. We had to look through the binoculars because they are still very small and we can’t get too close. Hopefully we will get a good look at them, before Friday.

St John Ogilvie – Green Team

According to James, this was the best day of his life! We started the day with another lovely breakfast before we got our briefing and were told we would be kayaking and wall climbing. Our team did the wall climbing first which was a challenge but Ian and Daryl were very helpful and kept us safe. We all felt we achieved a lot at the wall climbing especially Luke who completed every task asked of him including the hardest route up the wall. We had a lot of laughs as some people fell off the wall but don’t worry, everyone’s harness kept them safe. We all worked together as a team and encouraged each other to get to the top of the wall. It was very scary for some of us but some were very confident.

After lunch it was our turn to go kayaking. We learned how to paddle the kayak, how to turn and how to go backwards. We all found it a wee bit tricky but liked that we could go quite fast in the kayaks after a while. Getting in and out of the kayak was quite difficult and we tried hard not to capsize but some of us didn’t manage to stay on top of the water! After practising a lot we had a game of tig with the kayaks. Luke was the chaser but when he tried to get the foam missile to throw he capsized and got soaked! The water was freezing!

Finally we got into some nice warm showers just before dinner. Our favourite part of dinner tonight was the sticky toffee pudding

Tonight we are off out for a walk along the beach and then Daryl is going to teach us some survival skills like how to light a camp fire. We hope there won’t be too many midges out!

St John Ogilvie – Green Group

We were split into three groups for the sailing and Martin, Annie and Matt were our instructors. Sailing was really fun. We got to put up both of the sails and take in turns to steer the boat. We also got to sit or lie right at the front of the boat! On our way back the wind stopped completely so we had to paddle our way back to the moorings! Some of us saw some jellyfish in the water, they were so cool. Everyone really enjoyed themselves!

We had another lovely dinner made by Pat. Tonight we got to choose from fish, gammon steak or baked potatoes. Then we had amazing chocolate cake and cream for dessert… yummy!

St John Ogilvie Red Team

We were woken up this morning by an alarm over the intercom followed by some really loud music! Everyone was straight up and ready to tidy their rooms because we had a room inspection at 8 o’clock. Most people got 7 or 8 out of 10 for their rooms! After our inspections we then went to breakfast and made up our packed lunches for the day.

Then  it was time to get ready. We got on our wetsuits, spray suits, helmets and life jackets and headed off out sailing – it was amazing! We got to sail the boats as a team and were taught how to steer the boats as well as control the sails. Erin U said, “It was a great experience.”

Later on, Martin took us out on the sea on a speed boat and went really, really fast! We had to hold on tight!

This eveing we did orienteering which some of us found difficult but we are all much better now. We learned that it isn’t always the fastest people that come first, sometimes if you take your time you get more answers right.

St John Ogilvie – Green Team

We started our journey to Arran on a bus to take us to the ferry. Some of us felt home sick but forgot all about it when we saw 3 porpoises swimming alongside the ferry. We were so excited!

Once we arrived at the centre, everyone said, “Wow!” It looked even better than the pictures.

After we had a quick tour and made our packed lunches, we went for a walk to Kingscross Point. It was really hot and we were all really hungry – especially Alana! From a dun at Kingscross Point we could see the Sleeping Warrior (a group of hills that form the shape of a giant lying down). When we had finished our lunch we made our way back and ended our walk with a paddle in the sea.

When we got back to the centre we had a lovely dinner. Our choices tonight were haggis, mince pie or vegetarian haggis. Luke was really fussy and didn’t want to eat his dinner but he tried it and said he actually liked it!

After dinner we got unpacked, had showers and were able to buy something from the tuckshop. We then had some group work activities to do before we were given all of our wet suits and other equipment for our activities tomorrow.

St John Ogilvie – Red Team

We started our journey travelling on a warm bus. Some people were homesick and some felt travel sick. Finally we arrived at the office for the ferry. Everyone was so excited! We got on the ferry and some people were scared until we all saw the porpoise jumping out of the water.

Bethany said, “I’m scared of the ferry!”

Soon we arrived at the centre and had a tour about the place and saw our dorms which were extraordinary! Suddenly we had a fire alarm which was loud and very annoying.

Later we packed our lunches, put them in our rucksacks and headed off to the seaside. We were all melting.

Dylan said, “I will never use my legs again.”

Erin H said, “It was really warm when we were walking.”

We all got back to the centre and had our dinner then bought things for the tuckshop and went for our showers!

Moorpark Primary School Blog – Teachers’ Blog

We’ve had a brilliant week with brilliant children who have made this a truly memorable experience for all concerned. The children have been a credit to their families and school.