I've really enjoyed following the blog and looking at the activities TSM children have been up to from my warm dry office!
I've also enjoyed reading all of the parents comments and those written by younger and older siblings. Especially where sibling have realised they actually miss their brothers or sisters. .
I know the trip is expensive but my hope is that after following the children for the week on this blog, you feel that it was money well spent! (Perhaps not so much when they open that suit case in the kitchen on Thursday night!)
This week, the children have achieved things that they never thought they could do! It might have been climbing a wall, swinging through trees, being away from the comforts of home or just not seeing family for more than one day. Every child will walk away having gained something; having pushed themselves and challenged themselves to achieve. I'm so proud of the achievements I've seen in the pictures and heard about from the staff during our daily catch up phone calls.
A huge thank you to Mrs MacFarlane, Mr Childs and Mrs Cumming for leading this trip. Thank you for the wonderful blog!
I say this every time at the end of residential trip BUT leading residential trips IS HARD WORK! It is a massive responsibility taking care of other peoples children for a whole week (nearly a week) and there is no switch off time. It is constant. You are a teacher 24 hours a day for the full 4 days! And... although we love being teachers, it is nice to be able to put your feet up at the end of the day, turn on The Real Housewives of Melbourne and relax. However, the one thing that makes it all worthwhile is seeing a different side to the children that we know in school; watching them achieve things they didn't think they could and watching them mature and think for themselves in such a short space of time. Giving up time to lead a residential is above and beyond what is expected of a teacher. There's no handing children back to parents at 3:30pm! This is why I am incredibly appreciative of staff who lead this trip for our children.
Thank you also to Mrs Simpson who books the trip, coordinates the coaches, completes the paperwork for the local authority,does the finances etc as this bit often gets overlooked.
I hope you all have a fabulous final afternoon. And... parents it wont be long they will be back with you very soon!
During the afternoon, Mrs MacFarlane will contact me to indicate an expected time of arrival. This information will be added to the blog as soon as we receive it.