Hurst Lodge School hits the slopes in Le Corbier

February 2011
We arrived in the evening to be met by Thierry our chalet manager and our reps from Equity Ski Nick and Doug, all of whom helped to make our stay a pleasant one.  We shared our accommodation with another school, Rivington and Blackrod High School from Bolton in Lancashire. After a rather shy start on both sides, our pupils gradually warmed up and started mingling in true Hurst Lodge style.
The first day of skiing was a sunny one.  The conditions were a little icy after a continuous spell of 28 days of brilliant sunshine in the Alps. However, our ESF instructors were patient and always in good humour. We had snow showers on Tuesday night which made for amazing sights and much better skiing conditions. 
Good natured fun was had by all, both on and off the slopes.  Many a fall off button lifts and the occasional wipe out left us all in stitches. A certain member of staff who will remain nameless, innocently followed the crowd like a lamb before the slaughter and became a piste basher on the red moguls for the afternoon. After a few jetes, and falling graciously with good humour the said member was exhilarated to be alive!  However, other members of staff did elephantine runs down all slopes powered on by the thought of making it to the messieurs. “Eagle” had lots of amusement watching “elephantine” and “graceful” falls, he also had fun on the jumps (we won’t mention a particular landing!!!)  We were appropriately sympathetic when pupils did have the occasional hit.  However, thankfully we all returned in one piece.
Our après ski was varied.  Rivington and Blackrod High School and Hurst Lodge had many a memorable evening. Our mutual introduction was a bingo night in the dining area, the entertainment continued as the week progressed.  On our 2nd night we were treated to a complex display of jumps from professional snow boarders and skiers. Our pupils and staff alike were in awe of the power and brave aerial tricks before our eyes.  Directly after this we had a majestic display of fireworks on the mountains against a clear night sky - what a treat!  We also had an evening of bum boarding with the staff watching on as the pupils whizzed past squealing with joy.  Other activities included a mixed quiz, Natasha Hutt and Maisie Caen-Reilly together with their friends from Rivington came 2nd after a competitive night. Some of our ladies went to the local swimming baths and were “refreshed” with a dip in the outdoor pool.  Needless to say we abandoned the plan to take the whole group the following day.  Our talents shone on the karaoke evening with everyone having a turn, (not least Mr. Eagle) no longer shy in the company of their new friends.  On the last night Miss Cadogan led a brief dance warm up with Mr. Samson leading everyone into the night with an African Social Dance which all of the pupils from both schools enjoyed.  On the whole, we had a brilliant week, with everyone having achieved new goals by pushing their own personal boundaries, whilst making new friends.
Quotes of the week included:
“I don’t want to leave, can we stay another week”
“How long does it take to drive to Bolton”
“Faster Mr. Samson faster”
“Will the fireworks start an avalanche?”
“How is your backside Mr. Eagle?”
“May I disinfect your door handle?”
“Miss Cadogan, when can we have our sweets back?”
“Where are we going next time?”
“Please can we come back again?”

Forest School

After putting our wellington boots and outdoor clothes on (which we are getting very good at now) we remind ourselves of the rules of Forest School, there are only three simple rules and the children can remember them easily now -

1. No going past the purple ribbon (boundary marker)
2. No putting our fingers in our mouths
3. No picking leaves off trees

Once we have run through these we set off singing our song along the way 

 "We're off to Forest School to play our games, oh we're off to Forest School to play our games, oh we're off to Forest School to play safely as we should, oh we're off to Forest School to play our games."

We walk to Forest School crossing the car park carefully followed by a gently run across the field.  After stopping to count the children and adults (to make sure we don't lose anyone!) it is time to explore.

The children help set the boundaries ensuring all their favourite spots are included within the area, including the log steps, crocodile log and the mountain. The children set off exploring - climbing, jumping and hiding.

We had some visitors at Forest School today, Miss Smit, Mrs Normington and Ken came to see what we were doing and the children happily showed them around and introduced them to the magical Beastie that lives the other side of the fence (they should feel honoured!)

The children were very active using the whole forest space with lots of climbing and jumping.  All of this exercise made them hungry and they happily enjoyed a biscuit and some hot chocolate to warm them up.  We listened to different sounds and the children could hear the wind, a very noisy bird and cars.  The bird sparked a conversation about Spring and birds' nests.

After snack we had a game of '123 where are you?' which is a simple version of hide and seek, the children have loved playing this game since the first week we came to Forest School so it is a favourite and regular request.  They enjoyed climbing on the crocodile and mountain until it was time to return to Hurst Lodge for lunch.

The children had all exercised enough today so we strolled back across the grass singing our song;
"We've been to Forest School to play our games, oh we've been to Forest School to play our games, oh we've been to Forest School and played safely as we should, oh we've been to Forest School to play our games."

Once inside we took our outside clothes off and talked about the session, the children said they enjoyed 'the 123 game', 'snack time', 'listening to the birdies sing' and 'climbing on the crocodile.' It was a wonderful session and everyone came back safe, happy and very tired.

See more at http://www.hurstlodge.co.uk/

Young Enterprise organise a Junior School Fashion Show

The Year 11 Young Enterprise group staged a fantastic fashion show in aid of the Children with Special Needs Foundation. A sum of £280 was raised for this locally based charity.

Children from the Junior and Pre-Prep sections of the School were the models for the event.  They were taught how to walk, pose and show off the clothes whilst parading down the catwalk.  One of them was heard to say "This is the best day of my life."

Pupils had the chance to show off two different outfits before taking part in the grand finale.  Parents and other members of the audience were then given the chance to purchase the various items of clothing and the commission from this formed the donation to the nominated charity.

This is the latest of a number of events which have included a Christmas Fair, a cake sale and a strawberries and cream stall.  With more events planned in the future we hope to make further sizeable donations to the CWSPF.

Where we are now

Rather than go over the past with the development of the smallholding I have decided to make our first Blog about where we are now.  Since the conception of the idea, roughly a year ago things have moved on rather quickly.  We now have a number of chickens, a rather loud cockerel called Bernard - which causes some amusement in the science rooms, several running ducks and a pair of micro pigs. All of these additions have a story attached to them like the time one of the pigs escaped into the School Library and no doubt as time passes such stories will be recounted.  More information on the sequence of these events can be found in the sustainability chapter on http://www.hurstlodge.co.uk/ .  Our immediate plans are to grow our own produce in the newly erected polytunnel and several beehives are soon to be erected in the school grounds.