Camp Journal
St Ivo School – Coaches 1 and 2 – Day Five
25th June 2014
An early start for the students for the excursion up to Glacier 3000!
Once everyone had got on aboard the Camp Suisse coach the journey began and soon enough everyone was on the cable cars going up to the glacier!
At the top the huskies were waiting for the students and everyone had a go at being pulled on the sled by them – afterwards everyone gave the huskies a pat on the head as a thank you!
Back on board the Camp Suisse coach the students made their way down the mountain to Villeneuve for a swim in Lake Geneva and the pool – the sun was shining and the mood was high!
For the evening at Camp Suisse the students enjoyed a relaxed evening of hot chocolate and a movie!
St Ivo School – Coaches 3 – Day Five
The Alpine Outpost chef cooked up a delicious breakfast of beans on toast and cereal making sure hunger was kept away until lunch time.
Everyone started the walk back down to Camp Suisse to get ready for the afternoon activity.
Back at camp it was a quick shower and a scrummy lunch of pasta bake, before the students grabbed their swimming kits and boarded the Camp Suisse coach for the journey down to Aqua Parc on the shores of Lake Geneva.
There was fun aplenty as everyone found something to their taste – from plunge pools, vertical slides, to the lazy river!
All too soon the fun was over and everyone headed back up for dinner of lasagne and the famous dessert named waffle-Wednesday (the clue is in the name)!
The students relaxed in the evening with hot chocolate and had a choice of movie night or 5-a-side football.
St Ivo School – Coach 4 – Day Five
The hike up to the outpost it a challenge for the students and there was plenty of support from everyone, it really helped as they all made it to the outpost in great time!
Others had more energy to burn and went on a further hike up to the French boarder and others stayed back at the outpost playing some games.
As the sun started to set, the BBQ was lit with the burgers and hot dogs sizzling away upon it! Everyone went out collecting fire wood for the camp fire on which the marshmallows were toasted, they say song and shared jokes around it later in the evening.
St Ivo School – Coach 1 – Day Four
24th June 2014
There is no better way to start the day with a filling breakfast, and it’s a good thing too because there was a lot of energetic activities planned for the day.
To begin with the students all split into three groups so they would be able to do each of the three activities on rotation. Everyone had a go at Archery, a climb up the indoor climbing wall and mountain biking!
On the archery range everyone became capable archers during target practice and for many students it was the first time, great effort!
There was no fear of heights from the students, as soon as they we harnessed it was straight to the top of the climbing wall.
Riding around on the bikes was great fun, the Activity Leaders shared the knowledge and even got the students trying out some jumps!
Back at Camp Suisse it was a quiet(ish) evening watching a movie and sipping on delicious hot chocolate! Once the movie was over it was lights out for another day.
St Ivo School – Coach 3 – Day Four
The students set off early in the morning, winding their way through the Swiss Alps – Great effort by all but special mention to Dom for his determination!
Lunch was taken at La Bourri with great views, even if it was a little cloudy!
Everyone arrived at the Alpine Outpost and took a break or played ping pong and cards before the students put on their hiking boots again and took a walk up to the border with France – the classic photo of the students with one foot in each country.
As the sun started to set the students collected fire wood – some campers collected trunks bigger than themselves! Soon the Alpine Outpost chef has the BBQ ready and sausage with burgers were on the menu.
Group Leader Mark then hosted a quiz in which three teams tied to win and shared a prize of a yummy chocolate bar!
Next up was bananas stuffed with chocolate and marshmallow and everyone gathered around the camp fire for a singsong and a tale or two from Activity Leader Tom (“What’s in the yellow bag Tom?”).
Everyone turned in for the night before the short walk back down in the morning.
St Ivo School – Coach 4 – Day Four
Two words…Banana Boat!!!
The students were really excited to go down to the lake and have some fun on the banana boat. It was much harder than it looked and everyone was bouncing around on the waves whilst holding on tight – some people fell off into the water but the students all helped haul people back on!
Afterwards everyone needed to dry off, so the students played some Frisbee, football and volleyball – great fun!
Back at Camp Suisse the day was far from over as everyone enjoyed fajitas for dinner and then a game of bingo with a chance of winning some prizes!
Soon enough lights out was upon us and it was time to go to sleep.
St Ivo School – Coach 2 – Day Three and Four
23rd June 2014
To the Alpine Outpost!
Hiking boots? Check. Water bottle? Check. Happy faces? Check!
The hike up to the outpost it a great challenge for the students because it is a long walk and it’s not downhill! There was plenty of backing and praise from everyone and soon enough the destination was reached – a pat on the back everyone!
Some people had more energy to burn and went on a further hike up to the French boarder and others stayed back at the outpost playing some games.
As the sun started to set, the BBQ was lit with the burgers and hot dogs sizzling away upon it! Everyone went out collecting fire wood for the camp fire on which the marshmallows were toasted and songs sang around it later in the evening.
More adventure awaits…
The Alpine Outpost chef made a delicious breakfast of sausage, beans and bread (with some cereals too) and then the students made the hike back down to Camp Suisse.
Once everyone had a chance to freshen up and grab their swimming kits, it was all aboard the Camp Suisse coach for an excursion to the Aqua Parc! There the students had a choice of several pools and slides to whizz down!
For the evening activity there was the chance to win some great prizes during Bingo! Eyes down!
Everyone was feeling rather sleepy after all the activity from the past two days, so bed was a true and trusty friend.
St Ivo School – Coach 3 – Day Three
After breakfast the students split into three groups and rotated around three activities.
Time to be brave campers!
The climbing wall is not something for the faint-hearted but the students built up the courage and supported one another to get to the top! The Activity Leaders were on hand to give instructions and make sure everyone was wearing a harness and a helmet – everyone was brilliant!
Ready, aim, Fire!
Up on the archery range the students enjoyed some practice shots and improved their technique under the watchful eyes of the Activity Leader. It was great to keep score, everyone likes some healthy competition!
On your bike!
In the afternoon the students took to the mountain bike training course and had the opportunity to improve their skills – a couple of the students even made the great accomplishment of learning to ride a bike, well done!
For the evening activity it was a game of Bingo where some lucky winners received a Camp Suisse souvenir prize!
St Ivo School – Coach 4 – Day Three
It was an early start for the students but well worth it!
Once everyone had climbed aboard the Camp Suisse coach, the journey up to the Glacier 3000 excursion had begun! The next mode of transport was much more exciting, it was a ride in a cable car to the glacier. The views were stunning and the sun was shining – amazing!
At the top of the glacier there were the husky dogs with a sled waiting to take the students around on a ride. Soon the huskies were tired out and it was time to go to the Alpine rollercoaster!
After a spot of lunch it was back aboard the Camp Suisse coach to meet some fellow students from Coach 1 at the Aqua Parc. It was great fun to go for a dip in the several pools and whizz down the incredible slides – laughter all around!
Back at camp the students enjoyed a relaxing evening. There was warming hot chocolate for everyone and a movie to enjoy.
Welcome St Ivo!!
22nd June 2014
St Ivo arrived earlier than planned and landed at Camp Suisse at about 11.30am. They were greeted with fresh homemade Camp Suisse lemonade and were shown to their rooms. Once settled in, the afternoon activity for all of the campers was a small hike around the beautiful area where after an hour they stopped at the football pitch. We couldn’t have asked for better weather so the kids stayed at the football pitch playing with footballs and frisbees and letting off some of their remaining steam from their overnight coach ride! Once they headed back to site, it was time for more sports with the campers playing football and basketball in the indoor sports hall. After an energetic afternoon the St Ivo campers and staff got to sit down and enjoy a delicious dinner of spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread followed by a dessert of pineapple upside down cake. It was a well-deserved early night for all in preparation of a brilliant week ahead!!!!!
