Team Building

The first “whole house” event took place on Sunday with a mixture of different activities which helped the boys and girls mix, and chat to peers they had never spoken to before. Sadly, the company were unable to bring the laser guns at the last minute but there were still plenty of fun to be had with the team building exercises, giant games, football and the old childhood favourite 40 – 40!

Rounders with a difference!





Team Building Exercises - now can you spot the "leaders" or bossy boots!

Relaxing in the Forum before thewell earned BBQ

 The day was over but lots of fun had been had by all!!

The Arding-lay Project.

Last year a new CAS project was set up with Ardingly embarking on the Arding-lay project. A chicken run was built by the student s and in time the run was filled with egg laying hens. The girls in Woodard are heavily involved in the  care of these hens and Fiona Jones offers the report below.

The Arding-lay team: Leontine, Sofia, Anca, Claire, Charlie, Fiona, Lucy, Gemma, Ellie and Maddie

Some of the sixth form students have been caring and looking after chickens in a new project that we call Arding-lay

This involves:

 Providing water

Feeding the hens

Collecting the eggs and taking them to the staff common room to be sold

Checking for foxes

Pooper-scooper-ing

Cleaning

Letting the chickens out of their house in the morning and returning them in the evening

Playing with the chickens

Playing with and caring for the chickens – ‘chicken love’

Feeding the chickens in their run and checking that they have not been pecking each other.

Returning the Chickens to their coop in the evening so that they stay warm in the winter and free from foxes that may manage to get in through the meshing.

One of our six healthy, egg laying hens

And now to hens learning from the Ardingly learner profile:

 Inquirer:      

 Learning from the Ardingly Learner Profile this chicken becomes inquisitive when a strange black object with buttons enters the enclose

Balanced:

This chicken perches on a slim ledge as the hutch is opened for cleaning using her balance she appears steady

 

HOCKEY

It is wonderful to see so many of the house regularly representing the College at hockey for all the obvious reasons – team spirit, camaraderie, healthy lifestyle etc. In this final year it is vital to keep a balance between work rest and play. I hope to focus on other sports in the coming weeks… In the meantime – a few photographs of the recent encounter against the OA's and  Churchers.

BIOLOGISTS IN THE FIELD

On Sunday the 9^th of September all of the Upper Sixth Biologists embarked on an adventurous 3-day-journey to Dale Fort; Wales.

Day 1 was spent at Jetty Beach, the local seashore, where we observed and marvelled at the existing animals and plants. Later on, the rubber boots, waterproofs and several layers of clothes proved to be beneficial when rain started to pour down during our seashell-investigation.

However, we soon headed back to the centre to get some delicious marble cake. Steve and John, our teachers at Dale Fort, taught us all about ecology, succession and shores.  We put our brains to work, learning about statistics and creating  bar graphs.

The hike to the Genn Saltmarsh was the highlight of the trip. Besides having a picnic in the sun (which was later rifled by Maggie – the Dale Fort dog), all of the students had to go across the sludge - some more successful than others.

Even though our Dale Fort journey was full of hard work, all of us greatly enjoyed the field work and the interesting lessons.

African Experiences

It has been a delight to welcome the new group of girls into the House for their final year at Ardingly, and they all appear to be settling down well. I enjoy hearing the corridors filled with their laughter and chatter, and have welcomed the opportunity to hear about some of their exploits over the summer – particularly the trips to Kenya and Gambia.

I thought that I would share some of their personal reflections on their experiences and have included a few (of the many hundreds) of photographs to give you a flavour of the adventures.

 

KENYA –  Building Playground Equipment at Ndogo Primary School and more!



Girls hard at work



 The first time these Kenyan children had ever seen a swing!!

Kenya has changed the way I think about life and now I am planning to go on a gap year to teach young children in New Zealand, and want to become a primary school teacher.  Grace Gutteridge

One moment which I will remember for a long time, was when I let a class of children go out to play for break time, and then about 5 minutes later a little boy came back into the classroom and said to me 'Can I learn more?'. (Lauren Hines)

Memories from Kenya will forever stay dear to my heart. Friendships were formed and others enhanced and I hope and believe they will remain in place for years to come. (Freya Barratt)

"Despite the short time we spent in Kenya, we went home with the certainty that we left something lasting behind.  Much of the trip was about giving – giving time to listen, to learn, to teach, to help, to build and to be passionate about what we were doing."  (Tina Neizert)

GAMBIA -  teaching science lessons and learning about life in rural Gambia.

"The science lessons we taught in the Gambia we felt were crucial in the children's understanding of the world around us, I thoroughly enjoyed every unique moment. The lessons that the children taught us: the importance of patience, the importance of supporting one another, importance of enthusiasm for every activity and their appreciation for every detail of our world helped me to see the person I wish to be, and how to make the most of everything we have been given."  Eloise Segal.

"My experience in Gambia was truly unforgettable! The two weeks was amazing, all the people we met welcomed us warmly into their lives. The children we taught were so eager to learn and made our trip to Gambia so rewarding. To visit and volunteer in Gambia is a gratifying experience that changes your perspective on life ... and I will never forget it."  Ellie Entwistle