Day 7 Bulletin

Hi Everyone

Our last bulletin from Anzere - how the week has flown by! Another packed day for the children: skiing, slalom races, and shopping (we've had no time for it 'til now!), followed tonight by our final awards ceremony, a disco, and packing... Our week away has been full of laughter, hugs, smiles... and yawns! The children are sad to leave, but of course excited to see you again and tell you all about their adventures. I know they will come back full of wonderful memories of what - for most - has been their first trip away from home. Well done to all of them!

I'm just working on some final photos from the slopes. Today was our first really cold day on the mountain, so apologies if they're a bit blurred - my hands were frozen! I tried to take some pictures of the children doing the slalom races but, as with the sledding, the action shots proved quite tricky - given the speed at which the children were passing me! I'll include as many as I can, but some might need cropping, which unfortunately I can't do on this computer. The photos should be of a high enough resolution for you to do this successfully. I will also include the usual set of alpine pictures, although I suspect you may be suffering from mountain scenery fatigue by now! We're not!

My apologies, too, to the couple of parents who have texted in to say there haven't been enough pictures of their child. I have truly tried my best to ensure there are at least three or four good photos of each child, and believe there are, but if you're feeling disappointed, I'm sorry. I hope you will appreciate that we have 47 children with us, and I have had to look after children whilst on the mountain as well as take photos. Being on foot, it has also been difficult to reach all the slopes on which the children are skiing. Still, trying to do so has at least burned off some of the calories from the excellent food we've enjoyed here!

I will add photos from the rest of the day and our flight home (if I'm awake!) when we get back to Bahrain. I should also point out that in addition to the photos on the blog and the Viamonde site, the staff have also taken a number of photographs with their own cameras. We will compile all the photos on a CD when we return to school as a memento for the children of our visit.

As our thoughts turn to home, I would like to say what a pleasure it has been to take your children away. They have been wonderfully supportive of each other, polite and such good company. Each of them has demonstrated determination, kindness and independence, and you can rightly be proud of them and the way they have all contributed to the success of our visit. It has been a delight to get to know the children away from the school environment, and to see them grow in self-confidence with each passing day. I have spent the whole week thinking to myself, 'Now this is teaching,' - and not a whiteboard or pencil case in sight! I know all of the staff will echo these sentiments, and join me in congratulating the children for all they have learned and achieved this week.

On a final note, I hope most of you have enjoyed the blog and seeing what your children have been up to each day. It has been something of a labour of love, taking up the best part of each day, but I have really enjoyed doing it and hope it will be a valued record of our week away. This is the first time the school has attempted a blog, and I already have some changes in mind for next year (including a faster and more reliable internet connection!), but I would be grateful for your feedback and suggestions too - if you have time over the next week or so. Thank you!

We look forward to seeing you all back in Bahrain!


Mr M.