We had a fun cookery lesson making toffee apples as a Guy Fawkes night (almost) activity. We all looked forward to going out to see a Firework Display, but the weather was so appalling that we stayed in instead. We spent prep painting plaster casts, I had a dinosaur, Chris did a dog, malcolm a footballer, Katie and Tommy did dinosaurs, Daisy did a rabbit and Sarah painted malcolm....... by accident!
After supper we played Hot Potato, which is a really fun game. It brings together the beaks and the pupils, with the groan ups doing the whackings for the forfeits, and the pupils receiving them!
At Lights Out we all trotted off nicely to bed. Once again my eyes closed as soon as I hit the pillow. I don't even know if Miss L came round to put Lights Out. Still my alarm went off promptly just before midnight, and all of us, except Daisy, who was worn out so we left her to sleep, trotted quietly down to the Staff Room for our traditional Midnight Feast. (Mr Malcom appeared at five past twelve, just as I was returning from the kitchen with a glass for my cider, but I gave him a quick push in the chest, hissed "you're too early, come back in twenty minutes" and slipped into the room closing the door firmly behind me!)
We spent twenty minutes drinking cider, eating cakes and generally putting the world to rights, then the door opened and Mr Malcolm appeared. He lined us up facing the wall, then called me out first, six hard whacks withthe strap and I was sent back to contemplate the wallpaper while the others were dealt with, then back out to the bench again for six strokes of the cane which drove home the point that we were seriously disobeying!
Miss L reprimanded us all in the morning too. I also got whacked by Prof after he caught me adding "arsenic" to the list of ingredients for Mr Malcom's sandwiches!
To be continued............
Friday, 9 November 2012
November Boarding School Saturday
After breakfast, and a somewhat unpleasant and painful few minutes explaining to Mr Malcolm the thinking behind his walled up door, we were taken across to the classroom block. In schools past we have marched across there in a crocodile, behind the Beak, peeling off as we go so that when he arrived at the door we were gone! These days we have a Beak front and rear, so opportunities for bunking off are severely curtailed.
We started off with Political History. Mr Malcolm took us somewhat in depth into the story of the Gunpowder Plot. Why the school authorities thought that anything to do with explosives would be an apt subject for pupils of our reputation I have no idea, but it proved to be very interesting. (As an aside, I have seen on the TV the other day, a programme which showed the actual house where Robert Catesby, the leader of the plotters, was killed. The bullet holes are still there, as is the doorstep where Catesby fell, mortally wounded......)
This was followed by Military History with Professor Robertson where we learned even more about the Battle of Britain (we had done it at NGM on Battle of Britain Day with Mr Malcom, and several of us had also touched on the subject at a recent Hawthornes School). This time however we discussed the type of aircraft which were involved. Or rather we sat quietly and Prof told us all about them as we are not supposed to interrupt when he is speaking. And of course we strive to be obedient. Prof had very generously bought three Airfix models, a Messerschmitt, a Spitfire, and something else whose name evades me at the moment, and we were allowed to put them together the next day.
We had a lesson on triangles from Mr Reamon. I enjoy his lessons, even maths, and I actually came away understanding the thinking behind Pythagorus' Theorem. The only down bit was that it turned out that it was Archimededs who leapt out of his bath naked and ran along the street shouting Eureka, I was rather hoping that Mr Reamon might have demonstrated the Eureka thingy if it had been Pythagorus instead!
To be continued...............
We started off with Political History. Mr Malcolm took us somewhat in depth into the story of the Gunpowder Plot. Why the school authorities thought that anything to do with explosives would be an apt subject for pupils of our reputation I have no idea, but it proved to be very interesting. (As an aside, I have seen on the TV the other day, a programme which showed the actual house where Robert Catesby, the leader of the plotters, was killed. The bullet holes are still there, as is the doorstep where Catesby fell, mortally wounded......)
This was followed by Military History with Professor Robertson where we learned even more about the Battle of Britain (we had done it at NGM on Battle of Britain Day with Mr Malcom, and several of us had also touched on the subject at a recent Hawthornes School). This time however we discussed the type of aircraft which were involved. Or rather we sat quietly and Prof told us all about them as we are not supposed to interrupt when he is speaking. And of course we strive to be obedient. Prof had very generously bought three Airfix models, a Messerschmitt, a Spitfire, and something else whose name evades me at the moment, and we were allowed to put them together the next day.
We had a lesson on triangles from Mr Reamon. I enjoy his lessons, even maths, and I actually came away understanding the thinking behind Pythagorus' Theorem. The only down bit was that it turned out that it was Archimededs who leapt out of his bath naked and ran along the street shouting Eureka, I was rather hoping that Mr Reamon might have demonstrated the Eureka thingy if it had been Pythagorus instead!
To be continued...............
September School
Well, what can I say about September School? We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! We had a couple of new boys, Ollie and Davy, welcome to you both. We started off well at Morning Assembly with Miss Livingstone praising everybody for having smart uniforms. Of course Chris hadn't arrived at this point, he was late, his Guardian having run into lots of traffic (not literally of course, his guardian is a good driver). Danni got the housepoint for being the neatest cos he had the shiniest shoes. Poor ol prof was poorly, so Mr Malcolm gallantly stepped into Prof's shoes (not literally , I don't think they'd fit) and we had a very interesting lesson about the Battle of Britain (it being Battle of Britain Day). After break we had to do an essay about the period, either what it might have been like to be working in the Forces on the real Battle of Britain Day, or else a what if essay based on what we thought might have happened if the Germans had invaded Britain. I enjoyed that, I got some housepoints for mine.
Miss Livingstone had been less than impressed with our standard of maths when we took SAT's last term. (Not our fault, it's the way we were taught surely?) So she showed us how to do long division, and she insisted that we show ALL our workings out, and then she gave us a test. I did all right i'm happy to say cos I was in trouble several times with mr Malcolm and Mr Ray for slight misunderstandings about my behaviour.
Lunch was scrummy, but I upset mr Malcolm again and was sent to wait outside the Staff Room. I was just about to be called in when Miss Livingstone sent me back in to the classroom to line up with all the other pupils. Someone had hidden the school bell, and shame on him, didn't own up until after we had all ben called out to the front and whacked by Mr Ray and Mr Malcolm..... Duffing ups behind the bike sheds are still on the agenda if you are reading this and you know who you are! And I still had to face Mr Malcolm for my original misdemeanour!
Modern Maths with Mr Ray was rather fun. We split into three groups, and then worked on a project involving Barbie, elastic bands, and bungee jumps! I kid you not! Poor old Barbie (who belonged to Mr Ray....don't ask) was tied at the ankles so that her feet stayed together (again, please don't ask) and then dropped the full length of an elastic band. Each group dropped her three times, with an extra elastic band being added each time. Mr Ray wrote the results on the board, then we were all given a sheet of graph paper and we had to work out how many elastic bands it would take to give her the maximum thrill (don't ask) without her banging her head on the floor. We all worked it out to 12 bands, but when Mr Ray did the practical, 13 also worked. 14 bands and she bounced off the lino!
After this we had a lesson on Social education. We all sat round in a circle, like group therapy and voiced our deepest feelings. Well not quite. We discussed nudity in the Royal Family and the need for privacy in life. Quite thought provoking.
Danni was Pupilof the Day at Final Assembly. Davy gave us all a lot of amusement listening to his cries of woe emanating from the Staff Room, he does not yet have the NGM bum.
It's boarding sxhool next. Also a good source of NGM legends and bags of fun. Tommy may be well enough to come so yayyyyyy!
Miss Livingstone had been less than impressed with our standard of maths when we took SAT's last term. (Not our fault, it's the way we were taught surely?) So she showed us how to do long division, and she insisted that we show ALL our workings out, and then she gave us a test. I did all right i'm happy to say cos I was in trouble several times with mr Malcolm and Mr Ray for slight misunderstandings about my behaviour.
Lunch was scrummy, but I upset mr Malcolm again and was sent to wait outside the Staff Room. I was just about to be called in when Miss Livingstone sent me back in to the classroom to line up with all the other pupils. Someone had hidden the school bell, and shame on him, didn't own up until after we had all ben called out to the front and whacked by Mr Ray and Mr Malcolm..... Duffing ups behind the bike sheds are still on the agenda if you are reading this and you know who you are! And I still had to face Mr Malcolm for my original misdemeanour!
Modern Maths with Mr Ray was rather fun. We split into three groups, and then worked on a project involving Barbie, elastic bands, and bungee jumps! I kid you not! Poor old Barbie (who belonged to Mr Ray....don't ask) was tied at the ankles so that her feet stayed together (again, please don't ask) and then dropped the full length of an elastic band. Each group dropped her three times, with an extra elastic band being added each time. Mr Ray wrote the results on the board, then we were all given a sheet of graph paper and we had to work out how many elastic bands it would take to give her the maximum thrill (don't ask) without her banging her head on the floor. We all worked it out to 12 bands, but when Mr Ray did the practical, 13 also worked. 14 bands and she bounced off the lino!
After this we had a lesson on Social education. We all sat round in a circle, like group therapy and voiced our deepest feelings. Well not quite. We discussed nudity in the Royal Family and the need for privacy in life. Quite thought provoking.
Danni was Pupilof the Day at Final Assembly. Davy gave us all a lot of amusement listening to his cries of woe emanating from the Staff Room, he does not yet have the NGM bum.
It's boarding sxhool next. Also a good source of NGM legends and bags of fun. Tommy may be well enough to come so yayyyyyy!
The November Boarding School FridayNight/Saturday Morning
So, we are back from boarding school and in our usual heads again. But what fun we had!
My Guardian picked malcolm up from a convenient station, and we headed west, towards the setting sun. We chatted her into taking us out of bounds just before we approached the venue, so that we could run wild on the beach. Unfortunately the heavens opened, so we spent our illicit time in a cafe instead, eating scrummy home made sponge cake, and drinking tea.
A little later we arrived at school, and we were sent up to our dorms. This year the girls' dorms were up on the top floor, and the boys' dorms were on the first floor, amongst the Beaks....no doubt a ploy to keep us all well behaved during the night! We changed into uniform, Mr Malcolm had words with me about going out of bounds, and then it was time for supper. Miss Livingstone had pinned the Pupils' Chores List on the kitchen wall. Sadly the cook and assistant cook had been waylaid, so it was up to Miss L to do the cooking throughout the weekend, ergo it was only right that the pupils should muck in and help. The list was fairly split between setting tables, clearing them, filling and emptying the dishwasher and washing up anything that couldn't be stuffed into said dishwasher. The pupils all tackled the various chores with varying degrees of enthusiam and commitment depending how their own individual characters dictated.
We were told to go to bed and not talk after Lights Out. Personally I was so tired that my eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow and I didn't wake until my alarm went off. I had it stuffed in my bed so that I wouldn't wake Sarah as it was set for 2am. I crept out of bed and picked up the large roll of newspaper which Daisy, Tommy and I had cobbled together the night before. In her wisdom, Miss L had parked Mr Malcolm on the top floor next to our dorm, no doubt to keep a bleary eye on us, and he had festooned his door with signs, "no children allowed", "no admittance" "no trespassing"....you get the idea? Well we decided that we would wall him into his room with newspaper, so that when he opened the door in the morning to go for a shower, the corridor would have disappeared! The first part of the plan went very well, but as I stood in the chilly corridor, trying to attach strips of sellotape to the paper and the door it rapidly dawned on me that A) I needed an accomplice, and B) that that accomplice should be several inches taller than me. Neverthe less, when gripped by a mischievous idea I can be tenacious, and I did manage to cover three quarters of the door. It didn't have the full effect, but it did cause a pleasing amount of aggravation!
To be continued...................................................
My Guardian picked malcolm up from a convenient station, and we headed west, towards the setting sun. We chatted her into taking us out of bounds just before we approached the venue, so that we could run wild on the beach. Unfortunately the heavens opened, so we spent our illicit time in a cafe instead, eating scrummy home made sponge cake, and drinking tea.
A little later we arrived at school, and we were sent up to our dorms. This year the girls' dorms were up on the top floor, and the boys' dorms were on the first floor, amongst the Beaks....no doubt a ploy to keep us all well behaved during the night! We changed into uniform, Mr Malcolm had words with me about going out of bounds, and then it was time for supper. Miss Livingstone had pinned the Pupils' Chores List on the kitchen wall. Sadly the cook and assistant cook had been waylaid, so it was up to Miss L to do the cooking throughout the weekend, ergo it was only right that the pupils should muck in and help. The list was fairly split between setting tables, clearing them, filling and emptying the dishwasher and washing up anything that couldn't be stuffed into said dishwasher. The pupils all tackled the various chores with varying degrees of enthusiam and commitment depending how their own individual characters dictated.
We were told to go to bed and not talk after Lights Out. Personally I was so tired that my eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow and I didn't wake until my alarm went off. I had it stuffed in my bed so that I wouldn't wake Sarah as it was set for 2am. I crept out of bed and picked up the large roll of newspaper which Daisy, Tommy and I had cobbled together the night before. In her wisdom, Miss L had parked Mr Malcolm on the top floor next to our dorm, no doubt to keep a bleary eye on us, and he had festooned his door with signs, "no children allowed", "no admittance" "no trespassing"....you get the idea? Well we decided that we would wall him into his room with newspaper, so that when he opened the door in the morning to go for a shower, the corridor would have disappeared! The first part of the plan went very well, but as I stood in the chilly corridor, trying to attach strips of sellotape to the paper and the door it rapidly dawned on me that A) I needed an accomplice, and B) that that accomplice should be several inches taller than me. Neverthe less, when gripped by a mischievous idea I can be tenacious, and I did manage to cover three quarters of the door. It didn't have the full effect, but it did cause a pleasing amount of aggravation!
To be continued...................................................
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
School Trip
We have just been on a super school trip. Mr Malcolm took us to a Museum in Portsmouth, and we had great fun going round there. Afterwards we went down to Southsea, and we were allowed to play on the beach and go round the amusement arcades. We played boules on the green for a while, and we tried to play bat and ball but the wind was too strong and kept blowing the ball away!
I was a bit naughty and I have to see Mr Malcolm before school on Saturday. Apparently I am going to learn the eror of my ways....gulp. Still, it will take my mind off Sats and Sports!
I was a bit naughty and I have to see Mr Malcolm before school on Saturday. Apparently I am going to learn the eror of my ways....gulp. Still, it will take my mind off Sats and Sports!
Monday, 9 April 2012
How Time Passes
Easter is almost behind us, and school is looming this weekend. I am so excited. We've had a three briliant schools so far this year, and this one promises to be as good as the others. Last term we started making cress heads. Miss Livingstone took most of them home with her, and hopefully, they have been watered and will have nice curly green "hair" when we see them on Saturday!
So watch this space and I'll let you know what we get up to. Sadly I can't give any hint before the event as the odd beak (and some of our Beaks are very odd, believe me) casts a beady eye over these ramblings and we wouldn't want any of our little plans nipped in the bud now, would we?
Bethany
So watch this space and I'll let you know what we get up to. Sadly I can't give any hint before the event as the odd beak (and some of our Beaks are very odd, believe me) casts a beady eye over these ramblings and we wouldn't want any of our little plans nipped in the bud now, would we?
Bethany
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)