It was lovely to welcome ten new boarders into the house after Easter. Our ‘in weekend’, which begins each term, not only helps our existing boarders to resettle after a holiday at home but also plays a vital part in helping our new boarders to settle into the house and provides time for new friendships to be nurtured.
This weekend has certainly been an action-packed one and Saturday night saw the children making the most of the lighter evenings, playing outside after supper and tuck or enjoying a swim in the pool.
Sunday started a little differently to usual with early morning swim training on offer before breakfast. Following a full English and letter writing home, an eager group of runners gathered to run the second ‘FSM Loop’. How lovely to see the children getting up and active on a Sunday morning.
Year 8 enjoyed relaxing on site whilst Years 3 – 7 headed out into the Forest. There is a wonderful sandbank just 10 minutes away where the children can play. From making sandcastles to running down the hill, their imaginations can run wild there and the children enjoyed playing together, with some paddling their feet in the stream at the bottom while others played on the rope swing.
After lunch, there was the chance for a little downtime to enjoy the cricket nets, Common Room, games in the DHH or similar pastimes. The boarders were given a Monopoly Australia set by former gap students Miss Sippel and Mr Peel and it was lovely to see the children enjoying this.
At 2.30pm the boarders headed out to the astro to enjoy zorbing, an activity the children had been asking to do again so it was lovely to see how pleased they were to hear that the zorbs were coming. The Year 8s who had popped into Fordingbridge after lunch were able to come back and enjoy the zorbs too. The afternoon concluded with the opportunity for a swim, a little time in the IT room or a movie before supper.
The house is quiet tonight as some very happy and weary children get some much needed rest before the week ahead after an exciting weekend together.