Y5 - Laches Wood Coven Staffordshire 29 th Feb – 4 th March 2016

Chasewater is closed! Although we had made a provisional booking at Chasewater for 7-11 th March 2016, we have now been informed that refurbishments at the Chasewater Centre will be ongoing until the end of March. We have managed to secure an alternative week booking at Laches Wood (another SCC residential centre) but have had to move to a week earlier (29 th Feb – 4 th March 2016). Following our visit we will review experiences with a view to returning to Chasewater from 2017.

Example daytime activities High Ropes Bushcraft Climbing and Bouldering BMXing Indoor caving Archery Orienteering Pond dipping Example evening activities Campfire, Night Walk, Scavenger Hunt

Example timetable 7:45 Bell goes – up, washed, dressed, teeth cleaned 8:00 Cooked Breakfast, cereals, toast 9:00 Duties & room inspection 9:30 Activities 12:45 Lunch of sandwiches (2-3 different fillings), fruit, pudding (e.g. flapjack), juice or water 1:45 Activities

5:00 Dinner (two main meal choices and a vegetarian option, two dessert choices plus yoghurt or fruit) 6:00 Duties 6:30 Diary / Postcard / Tuck Shop (one item of food and one drink allowed per night, souvenir shopping on Thursday evening)

7:00 Evening activity (night hike / treasure hunt/camp fire sing song) 8:30 Supper (drink and biscuits) 8:45 Story, bed 9:00 ASLEEP (in theory!!!)

Duties are activities children carry out twice a day to maintain a tidy centre. The idea of this is that they live at the centre for a week so they take pride in, and responsibility for, its appearance. Sweeping and hovering the Hall Cleaning Dormitories Tidying the wet rooms Cleaning classrooms Picking up litter Sweeping the outdoor areas Cleaning the floor and sinks in the changing rooms BUT NOT THE TOILETS!!

Sleeping Arrangement Girls and Boys are in separate dormitories with en-suite / shared bathroom facilities Dorms have bunk beds. There will be other children at the Centre, but we will not share dorms The centre has recently been refurbished. The school staff are placed in individual rooms next to the dormitories (but within the same building). Teachers are accessible during the night if required.

Activity groups The children will be allowed to express their preference in friendship groups and please be assured teachers will not allow children to be left in a group without their friends. Friendship groups will be combined into teams. 5C and 5D will be mixed in order to forge new friendships and strengthen old ones. The children will be given challenges to overcome and they take on important roles and responsibilities throughout the week.

Kit list (page 1 of 2) Suitable Nightwear Underwear (please note for many activities, socks will need to cover your ankles) Trousers/leggings for activities (not jeans) 1 pair of trainers for activities, wellingtons for night walk Pair of dry shoes for evening activities Fleeces/sweatshirts for activities Long sleeved shirt/t-shirts (for activities where arms need to be covered) T-shirts Waterproof jacket/cagoule (and trousers if you have them) Warm anorak or similar

Kit list continued Hat and gloves One towel for showering Plastic drink bottle, named Sunscreen if the forecast is good! Small rucksack/ bag Labelled bin bag for wet and dirty clothing Wash bag (including soap, shampoo and toothpaste) Unbreakable mug and tea towel (named) £5.00 in change, stamp, pencil case. Torch for night activities Medicines, named with doses clearly stated Duvet cover and pillowcase

Any questions? For more information, video clips etc. log on to Please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher / teaching assistant or Mrs Sharpe if you have any questions / worries / information to share.