Monday, 24 March 2014
Friday, 21 March 2014
Skiing - Day 6
The final day of skiing has come around so quickly and this morning the student were assessed by their instructor and given a grade based on the level of their skiing. At the end of the morning session we had a presentation with the instructors where they were given their booklets with their grading and also a medal to keep. This then meant that the afternoon session was just about having fun with their instructors and being taken on their favourite runs of the week. Some of the beginner groups even progressed onto red runs this afternoon, which was a great achievement for them considering they had only put skis on for the first time 3 weeks ago!
This evening we all went out for our evening meal to a local pizzeria and afterwards every student was awarded a certificate for a memorable (and mostly funny!) achievement or incident throughout the week! It was then back to the hotel for a disco... it was an awesome way to finish off such a brilliant week. All of the students have been so great and we are so proud of every single one of them. Many have faced their fears of heights, chair lifts and cable cars, some of them carried on even though they were scared and they all pushed themselves and have had a great week. It has been such a pleasure to take them all... some of them have been asking to stay for another week!
Make sure you all have plenty of washing powder as we are leaving the hotel at 8.30am tomorrow morning!
This evening we all went out for our evening meal to a local pizzeria and afterwards every student was awarded a certificate for a memorable (and mostly funny!) achievement or incident throughout the week! It was then back to the hotel for a disco... it was an awesome way to finish off such a brilliant week. All of the students have been so great and we are so proud of every single one of them. Many have faced their fears of heights, chair lifts and cable cars, some of them carried on even though they were scared and they all pushed themselves and have had a great week. It has been such a pleasure to take them all... some of them have been asking to stay for another week!
Make sure you all have plenty of washing powder as we are leaving the hotel at 8.30am tomorrow morning!
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Skiing - Day 5
The weather was much cooler today, which was a welcome change. As the week is getting on, the mornings are getting quieter as everyone leaves it as late as possible before getting out of bed! Even those who are feeling weary or slightly injured still want to carry on skiing and generally they're being great at just getting on with it because they don't want to miss any time on the slopes, which is brilliant.
It's so great to see them all out on the mountain, and as the weather has been fairly warm most are choosing to wear their hoodies instead of their ski jacket, so it makes it really easy for us to spot one of our groups on the slopes! At one point there were two groups skiing together wearing their hoodies, it was like Fair Oak was taking over the mountain, it was great!
As each group is gaining confidence they are trying new things and pushing themselves to do better. Most groups have been through the boarder-cross course with banked corners and bumps to go over. Some have also been through the snow park and over some of the small kicker jumps that are made from the snow.
Our evening meal tonight was a French theme and earlier on in the week students were asked if they wanted to try any snails or frogs legs as part of their meal. Some were brave enough to try, with most saying the frogs legs just tasted like chicken!
This evening during free time the female staff were challenged to doing handstands against the wall on the patio area... not one to turn down a challenge from the students we did what we had to do and felt like 14 year old girls again! A great evening was had by all as we headed over the the slopes after dinner for bumboarding and snowballing fun! They all successfully slid down 100 metres of the mountain on their backsides, after spending the past 5 days trying their hardest not to!
The effort award this morning went to Liam Jones, who has had times when he didn't always feel confident but still did everything the rest of his group were doing and challenged himself to carry on. The flame award went to Frazer Livingston as his group were taken down a red run for the first time and Frazer and Ella were the only two in the group who wanted to go again and he did really well. This afternoon the effort award went to Niamh Bowdler who, despite having several falls and bumps and bruises does not complain and picks herself up and carries on... she has literally been a star! The flame award was given to Aaron Morris for his consistency and great technique.
It's so great to see them all out on the mountain, and as the weather has been fairly warm most are choosing to wear their hoodies instead of their ski jacket, so it makes it really easy for us to spot one of our groups on the slopes! At one point there were two groups skiing together wearing their hoodies, it was like Fair Oak was taking over the mountain, it was great!
As each group is gaining confidence they are trying new things and pushing themselves to do better. Most groups have been through the boarder-cross course with banked corners and bumps to go over. Some have also been through the snow park and over some of the small kicker jumps that are made from the snow.
Our evening meal tonight was a French theme and earlier on in the week students were asked if they wanted to try any snails or frogs legs as part of their meal. Some were brave enough to try, with most saying the frogs legs just tasted like chicken!
This evening during free time the female staff were challenged to doing handstands against the wall on the patio area... not one to turn down a challenge from the students we did what we had to do and felt like 14 year old girls again! A great evening was had by all as we headed over the the slopes after dinner for bumboarding and snowballing fun! They all successfully slid down 100 metres of the mountain on their backsides, after spending the past 5 days trying their hardest not to!
The effort award this morning went to Liam Jones, who has had times when he didn't always feel confident but still did everything the rest of his group were doing and challenged himself to carry on. The flame award went to Frazer Livingston as his group were taken down a red run for the first time and Frazer and Ella were the only two in the group who wanted to go again and he did really well. This afternoon the effort award went to Niamh Bowdler who, despite having several falls and bumps and bruises does not complain and picks herself up and carries on... she has literally been a star! The flame award was given to Aaron Morris for his consistency and great technique.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Skiing - Day 4
A scorching 18 degrees was forecast for today and it certainly felt like it... most of the students are baffled at how there is still so much snow when its so warm! We had a brilliant day and its great to see how far everyone has progressed, especially seeing as most of them had never had a pair of skis on their feet until a couple of weeks ago!
The effort award this morning was given to Ben Morris, who despite having several bumps and knocks is always out on the slopes, always smiling and is always helping others where he can. The flame award this morning actually went to a whole group! Miss Montgomery was skiing with the top group of boys who, even though the most experienced, really impressed her with how great they all were. This group is made up of Sam Mullings, Frank Lee, Tom Marriott, Aaron Morris, Joe Pringle, Josh Turnbull and Ben Woodbridge. Frank was asked to wear the award on behalf of the team as he has worked so hard to get into the top group and is the only one in that group who had no previous ski experience other than the 4 hours on the dry slopes we did before heading out to France.
This afternoon the effort award was given to Sophie Stringer who, despite having a bad fall yesterday was out with her group again this morning and skied with confidence. The flame award was given to Oliver Hipkiss who always gives 100% and tries to be at the front of his group and has impressed Mr Jones with his skiing.
The effort award this morning was given to Ben Morris, who despite having several bumps and knocks is always out on the slopes, always smiling and is always helping others where he can. The flame award this morning actually went to a whole group! Miss Montgomery was skiing with the top group of boys who, even though the most experienced, really impressed her with how great they all were. This group is made up of Sam Mullings, Frank Lee, Tom Marriott, Aaron Morris, Joe Pringle, Josh Turnbull and Ben Woodbridge. Frank was asked to wear the award on behalf of the team as he has worked so hard to get into the top group and is the only one in that group who had no previous ski experience other than the 4 hours on the dry slopes we did before heading out to France.
This afternoon the effort award was given to Sophie Stringer who, despite having a bad fall yesterday was out with her group again this morning and skied with confidence. The flame award was given to Oliver Hipkiss who always gives 100% and tries to be at the front of his group and has impressed Mr Jones with his skiing.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Skiing - Day 3
After two days of skiing it was a struggle for some of the students to get up and going this morning, but once they got kitted up and on the slopes they forgot about how tired they were! Another beautiful day meant conditions were really good and some of the beginner groups were starting to learn how to parallel turn. One of the instructors was armed with plenty of Haribo sweets this morning to keep motivation going and some students were really brave with conquering their fear of the chair lifts or heights.
Today the helmet cover awards were given for a variety of reasons. This morning the star award went to Rebecca Richards for her bravery and overcoming her nerves on the lifts, as a result had a fabulous day skiing and the flame award went to Ella Kiernan who spent yesterday afternoon constantly trying to improve her technique and asking her instructor how could improve... although when the instructor was teaching them how to do a spin and ski backwards it took her about 100 metres to stop! This afternoon the star award went to Dan Lycett who had made great progress and effort and impressed Miss Brennan with his bravery and the flame award went to Chloe Bates who just skiied really well and stood out in her group.
This evening half of the group have taken up the optional activity of a skidoo ride up the mountain after tea. They walked across the boarder to Italy and were taken up the mountain on a skidoo after sunset, stopped at a mountain restaurant to have a hot chocolate then got the skidoo back down to the bottom, where a bus bought them back to the hotel. They all came back saying how amazing it was and how they were really glad they had done it. The rest of the group stayed at the hotel for movie night and had a nice relaxing evening watching a film.
Below are a few photos of the day, more to follow....
Monday, 17 March 2014
Skiing - Day 2 (more photos added)
After a good night sleep (and a lie in!) the group were eager to get their skis on again this morning. The weather was a tropical 12 degrees (although it felt like a lot more!) and many are now sporting a healthy glow after being out all day in the sunshine. This morning's awards went to Leah Bilson for effort and for overtaking Mr Yeoman's several times while having a great big smile on her face and the flame award went to Amy Bywater for her great skiing ability. This afternoon the effort award went to Kieren Morgan for, and I quote "saving Mr Yeoman's life a couple of times" as Kieren kept helping him avoid falling over! The flames award went to Josh Turnbull who, despite losing a ski while getting on a chair lift, he had a great ski session.
This afternoon was a hard session for most, as the instuctors took most of the groups up to the top of the mountain and taught them how to parallel turn. They were doing long green runs all the way back down to the bottom of the mountain, which took a lot of stamina and hard work! The top group started the afternoon on their first red run (having only done their first blue run this morning!) so were progressing at an excellent rate! Everyone has done really well so far and and looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.
This evening was games night, which included our first pool tournament of the trip... there are many rematches now to be had!
This afternoon was a hard session for most, as the instuctors took most of the groups up to the top of the mountain and taught them how to parallel turn. They were doing long green runs all the way back down to the bottom of the mountain, which took a lot of stamina and hard work! The top group started the afternoon on their first red run (having only done their first blue run this morning!) so were progressing at an excellent rate! Everyone has done really well so far and and looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.
This evening was games night, which included our first pool tournament of the trip... there are many rematches now to be had!
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