IT’S ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK FOR IVY GIRLS
Ivy House resident, Sky Chen, tells us all about her action packed weekend during the Ivy House boarders trip.
On a sunny (church free) Sunday, the Ivy House girls drove merrily to Brokerswood country park. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by Scott and Charlotte who would help and supervise us whilst we enjoyed the activities.
In the afternoon, the girls put on helmets and harnesses then got ready to climb the Jacob’s ladder! It is basically a big ladder, but as you ascend higher, the gaps got larger. We were split into four teams of four. Then Charlotte and Scott fastened ropes onto our harnesses so we would not fall if we slipped. It was very enjoyable even though some of us struggled to climb it and it was very funny to watch. However most of us made it to the top, then we were lowered down to the ground by the ropes.
After the first activity we had a short break and we continued onto our next activity, which was raft building. We went down to the lake and were given barrels, ropes and logs to build our raft. Later we were split into two teams, Miss D and Miss Gough were a team, and all the girls were in a group. We started rapidly, however, the girls didn’t know what to do, so Mr. Crinion volunteered to help. He planned the basic shape of our raft which had to be able to hold ten people at once, and not fall apart. We placed all the barrels on their sides and put the logs all around the sides, and we used a lot of ropes to tie them together.
Meanwhile, Miss D and Miss Gough worked quickly on their raft for two. It was a small raft but it looked steady. Soon, both teams finished their rafts and got ready to sail. In the lake were three wooden platforms, our tasks were to go to each one and drop two people off. Then come back and pick them up to go back to shore.
The girls pushed their raft into the lake. To our surprise, it floated! Then we had to put six people onto it, which was fairly difficult and we were trying not to sink the raft and get wet at the same time. We managed to fit ten people on and we used the paddle to drop the first two individuals off at the platforms.
While we were doing that, Miss D and Miss Gough put their raft into the water and tried to seat themselves on it. Unfortunately, the whole raft turned over and they fell into the water. It was entertaining to watch!
The girls however, managed to completed the task quickly and managed not to sink. Fortunately, no one fell in. We had a rest then got on with the third activity. We ventured into the forest, gathered sticks and water and learned how to light a campfire, Scott also made delicious hot chocolates. While we waited for the water to boil we played a lot of exciting games led by Charlotte such as Twenty-one, James Bond and Honey I love you.
Afterwards, we said farewell and thanked Scott and Charlotte and travelled to Frankie & Benny's restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed pizzas, pastas, hamburgers and delicious dessert. Overall, we had a delightful day.