Saturday 15 February 2014

This is welly welly hard! Ms Sellar struggles to free Eloisa from wetwelly. Cerys captures the moment!

Group 6 Problem solving and team work on the low ropes. Tricky stuff!


















Group 6 orienteering inside (hurrah!) and outside (brrrrrr!)






Group by Group





Click on the Labels at the right hand side of this blog to see posts about each group. Or use the 'Search this Blog' feature.

Thank You

Thank you from all of us to all of you for working with us to provide the children with such a memorable, beneficial week away together. It was a genuine pleasure to escort the pupils and we truly enjoyed their company. Every camp is special but this year's group particularly impressed us with their 'can do' positive attitudes in challenging weather and their very good listening skills. P6s have made lasting bonds - with each other - and with the staff.

The Sciennes staff also gave it their all and sustained the 24/5 duty by working very closely as a team. All of our staff had cameras and but it was nigh impossible to get a signal on our smartphones. Benmore has installed wifi in two rooms but publishing photos on the go was challenging and we didn't manage to share information about every group as much as we had hoped. However, we hope you enjoyed the updates and we will continue to publish more photos here in due course.

Thank you to P6 teachers Ms Gaffney, Ms Sellar, Mrs Hogan, Mrs Campbell and Mrs Mackay for devoting their time, energy and above all care to their children, making sure all the pupils had the best possible experience.

Ms Christie was her usual amazing self: high profile with all the groups day and night - as were all the staff.  It was wonderful to have our Active Sports Co-ordinator, seasoned camper Jonathan Wallace, accompany us. Miss Inglis really enjoyed getting to know the year group, and we were fortunate to have her with us, particularly since she has previously been an Outdoor Education Instructor herself. Mrs Mehmood accompanying added to our high staff to pupil ratio and she also thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the children better. Mr Hewitt is seconded full time to City of Edinburgh Council as Principal Teacher for Outdoor Learning and we were delighted he came for a few days to visit us. Grateful thanks to the entire team and also to the extended team back at Sciennes, particularly Mrs Noble, Ms Anstruther, Mrs Crolla and Mrs Ellis who have an even busier week than usual without us. Mr Scott and Mr Reid also deserve a thank you for helping us get safely on and off the coaches.

We are indebted to all the magnificent staff at Benmore who go out of their way to make our stay with them as comfortable as it can possibly be, always going the extra mile to accommodate our needs, and for the great skill,  expertise and dedication of the Instructors. After a full day's activities from 9am till 5pm, each instructor spent additional time preparing individual comments written personally for each pupil for their JASS folders. All pupils who took part this week will also receive the 'Adventure' certificate; one quarter of the way towards full Bronze award accreditation, and a Benmore Certificate.

Thank you to Mrs Nowell and Mrs Tariq and all the staff back at school who have ensured that the three pupils who remained also had an enjoyable and interesting week. We were very sad that new pupil Allyce was unable to attend through illness and hope she is feeling better.

Thank you most sincerely to all the families who support us, not least of all financially, in providing what we believe to be an invaluable educational opportunity for our children.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday and we look forward to building on the success of the trip. Well done, Primary Six!
Ms Gallagher

Group 9 Gorge Walk

Many thanks to Instructor Steven for these photos

Team 9 Ready for the gorge

Lovely view over Holy Loch

Francesca and Annie bit cold after gorge walk and not keen to pose for photo!

Group Photos

Group 1 with Euan and Ewen

Group 1
Group 1
Group 1

Group 2 with Scrutz and Claire

Group 3 with Angela and Fraser

Group 3




Group 4 with Joe
Group 4

Group 4 (with Instructor Thea, seen here in the background, assisting groups with climbing)

Group 4



 Group 6 with Paul and James

 Group 6
Group 6
Group 7 with Morna and Eleanor

Group 7
Group 7

Group 7


Group 8 with Scott

Group 8
Group 8


Group 9 with Steven
Group 9
Group 9

Our Fantastic P6 Course for the Week

All Groups:

Monday - arrive, unpack, make beds, explore grounds - forest walk, mini gorge walk, problem solving. Group Two got a chance to canoe! Evening activity - Night Lines and Night Walk to hilltop for spectacular moonlit view.
Tuesday Evening Activity - Indoor and Outdoor Quiz
Wednesday Evening Activity - Cluedo and Pop Quiz
Thursday Pack and then Disco
Friday Breakfast, fond farewells and board buses by 9.30am

Course
Group One Euan and Ewen
Tues: Gorge Walk, Forest Walk
Wed: Mountain Biking, Caving
Thur: Climb/Abseil, Shore Walk
Group Two Scrutz and Claire
Tues: High Ropes, Gorge Walk
Wed: Caving, Climb/Abseil
Thurs: Biking, Forest Walk
Group Three Angela and Fraser
Tues: Forest, High Ropes
Wed: Climb/Abseil, Gorge
Thurs: Caving, Biking
Group Four Joe
Tues: Climb/Abseil, Forest Walk
Wed: Biking, Ropes Course
Thurs: Gorge Walk, Caving
Group Five Mhairi
Tues: Biking, Abseil/Climb
Wed: Gorge Walk, Forest Walk
Thurs: Orienteer, Caving
Group Six Paul and James
Tues: Caving, Biking
Wed: Forest, Option
Thurs: Climb/Abseil, Gorge Walk
Group Seven Morna and Eleanor
Tues: Forest Walk, Orienteering
Wed: Biking, Gorge Walk
Thurs: Caving, Climb/Abseil
Group Eight Scott
Tues: Gorge Walk, Option
Wed: Caving, Climbing/Abseil
Thurs: Biking, Forest
Group Nine Steven
Tues: Orienteer, Climb/Abseil
Wed: Gorge Walk, Forest Walk
Thurs: High Ropes, Biking
Instructor Thea assisted groups with climbing.
With Senior Instructor Graeme, that makes 16 Benmore Instructors, 10 Sciennes staff, along with Isabel and Jane in the Office, five cooks and a visit from Ian Ross (Head of Lagganlia and Benmore) and Mr Hewitt (CEC Principal Teacher Outdoor Learning) all ensuring that our pupils had a fabulous week. Thank you all!









Bustin' Some Grooves

What a great disco and a fabulous end to a fantastic week. Thank you to DJ Instructor Euan for spinning the decks. Super Troupers!