St John Vianney Catholic Primary

Class 6

Pendarren 2023!

Day 4

CLICK HERE to see the final day from Pendarren 2023 - the Coastal Walk, Rock Pooling and the Beach!

Our final full day at Pendarren House this year. After being woken to a gentle pitter-patter of rain on our windows, a quick glance at any weather forecast told us that this was going to be a wet one! But in true Pendarren style we layered up, waterproofed up and off we went to Caswell Bay for our annual coast visit.

We had to be quick as the tides were against us. So when we arrived we had to get cracking ASAP. First activity was rock pooling and this year’s haul, through no fault of theirs, was lighter than usual. But as with everything this week, there wasn’t even a flicker of a moan or whinge. In pairs they managed to find: a few small crabs, a transparent shrimp, a collection of snails, and a stone that looked like a Toblerone.

Next up was a bracing coastal walk around the bay to blow the cobwebs out. It was great to hear words like: erosion, deposition, weathering, waves, and tides. SJV teachers would have been very proud! A few games on the beach brought an end to a wet yet wonderful last activity.

As I write this children are packing their bags before a dinner of fish and chips. Children have their Christmas jumpers on for their last evening activity tonight. Talk has turned to our return home tomorrow and the children are excited to see you all. Expected arrival time will be 3-3.30pm but keep an eye on your emails for any updates from Mrs Cassidy.

Lost property/Drying room update:
Not too bad. A few items of clothing and unclaimed pieces of underwear so far. Watch this space!

See you all tomorrow, but for now it’s 'farewell' to Pendarren from Team 6!

Pendarren 2023!

Day 3

CLICK HERE to see the children as they pass the 'half way mark'! They'll be back before you know it...

After stuffing our faces with cereal, toast, potato waffles, sausages, beans and eggs, we set off for more adventures!

Day 3's activities brought about the "reverse fixture" of yesterday so Groups 2 and 3 did River Study, and Group 1 went canoeing and horse riding. All week, instructors have commented on the children’s impeccable behaviour and manners, and excellent listening skills - today was no different. Always a very proud moment for all staff - well done Class 6.

One memorable quote from one child to describe part of the River Study activity:

“I nearly didn’t do it.”
This quote brilliantly sums up this week - overcoming fears and worries in a patient, safe, supportive environment. This is exactly what the Pendarren Experience is all about and Class 6 are well and truly loving it!

This evening, after dinner of curry and rice followed by a pudding of Waffles, were treated to night games (red light, green light with torches) in the garden with Neil. As I write this I can hear them outside now and they are absolutely loving it!

Spoiler alert:
On our last full day at Pendarren tomorrow, all groups will go on a coastal visit to the seaside near Swansea. All are looking forward to it!

Lost property update:
Drying room looks “interesting.”
*Quietly hoping and praying everything has been labelled!

Goodnight all!

Some memorable quotes/words from today:

“Parkour!”
(Anonymous child, Class 6, negotiating a river crossing high up in the Brecon Beacons).

“I promise you bro…it was the horse!”
(Anonymous child, Class 6, maintaining their innocence at horse riding).

“I wish I could leave my hair in the drying room.”
(Anonymous child, Class 6, returning from River Study)

“Go Ms Kavanagh! Go Ms Adler!”

(A baying mob of Class 6 children applying a healthy dollop of peer pressure so their teachers got wet at the waterfalls!)
(Note: it definitely worked!)

going underground!

Day 2? Don't Worry About a Thing...

Pendarren 2023!

Day 2 (Part 2)

CLICK HERE to see all the action from Day 2 - Horses! Canoes! Caves! Rivers!

“Don’t worry…about a thing…cos every little thing’s gonna be alright!”

After an excellent night's sleep, we all stirred to the anticipation of our first full day in Pendarren. Cereal followed by sausages, hash browns, scrambled eggs, beans and toast - the breakfast of champions! It was perfect fuel for the fun-filled, fear-facing, action-packed day ahead!

Group 1 participated in River Study today. This involved following the route of the river Affon Mellte from the source high up in the Brecon Beacons to the limestone caves and then finally down to the waterfalls. In the caves children negotiated spaces, took turns to lead the group, turned their torches off, turned the torches back on and completed absolutely everything thrown at them…all while helping each other along the way. Afterwards we followed the river a little more and got up close and personal with some waterfalls…literally! An amazing experience!

Groups 2 and 3 enjoyed a slightly different feel to their day with both canoeing and horse riding. Many children managed to not only face their fears but completely knock them down, and it was delightful to see so many children rush back to tell their teachers and peers over dinner, "I did it!"
Perseverance, determination, bravery, and skill were all words used by Ms Kennedy, Ms Kavanagh and Ms Adler to describe Groups 2 and 3 today.

This evening was just as busy with the annual tradition of Daniel Morden and his fantastic Welsh storytelling. The children were amazed and mesmerised by his fantastic tales. Daniel was equally amazed at the fact that Class 6 remembered him from his visit to SJV when they were in Reception class!

Diary writing and story time meant some very tired eyes started to emerge. So off to bed they went.

Memorable quotes from today:

“Do you want Dutch braids or..”
(Anonymous teacher helping with Class 6 hair duties this morning)
(Hint: it wasn’t Mr Quin!)

“Don’t worry, about a thing, cos every little thing’s gonna be alright!”
Group 1’s spontaneous rendition summed up today perfectly! Well done!

“I know how to say wash your hands in Welsh.”
“Go on then.”
“It’s something blah blah blah…”

(Hmm…not quite)

What vegetables do boats hate? Leeks
(Anonymous child, Class 6)

“Mind the gap between the train and the platform!”
(One child telling another child where to put their foot in the cave!)

“Thanks for the help bro.”
(2 anonymous children from Class 6 thanking each other after caving as a teary teacher watched on! AMAZING TEAMWORK!!!)

Spoiler alert:
Tomorrow’s activities are...
Group 1 - Horse riding/Canoeing
Groups 2 and 3 - River Study

Anyway enough for today. We hope you are enjoying the updates and stay tuned for more tomorrow (the swap over day).

Eat. Sleep. Cave. Repeat.
Goodnight all!

Pendarren 2023!

Day 2 (Part 1)

First night...perfect! All happy, slept soundly and up for the day ahead.

CLICK Here to see the 'Pendarren Breakfast Experience' (and some Christmas Tree decorating - you can't stop Mrs. Kavanagh!):

and it's a 'happy pendarren birthday'!

Day One...

CLICK HERE to see a selection of day 1 highlights!

After waving off parents, carers, brothers, sisters and teachers, our coach (with a “real DVD player”) set off for our Welsh adventure we've all been anticipating so greatly. The children amused themselves with their books and games, and it was lovely to overhear the numerous conversations about what they were looking forward to about their Pendarren week. It was also a pleasure to overhear some quality ‘Dad jokes’ being shared by some members of the class. Here is one of the ‘better’ ones:

How do you get 2 whales in a car?
From England keep driving West!

After a quick toilet and snack stop at the Leigh Delamare services (Gavin from Gavin and Stacey’s favourite services) we arrived in Wales at about 1pm.

Neil and the other Pendarren instructors greeted us with warm smiles and we quickly settled into our new routines and surroundings including making our own lunch on day one. Some real professional sandwich making on show - well done Mums and Dads!!

Wellies. Check. Waterproofs check. Layers of clothing. Check. Off we went!

After a short drive in our activity groups we went to complete our afternoon activity: mountain walking! We didn’t just complete it, we smashed it! Some true fears conquered all round!

Shower. Done. Beds. Made. Bags. Unpacked.

Dinner tonight was homemade chicken, wedges, jacket potatoes, beans and salad, and yoghurts for pudding which was all very quickly polished off by Class 6! Nothing was left - not even the pattern on the plate!!

Dormitory inspection. Passed with flying colours. Fire drill. Completed.

Currently we are discussing our aims and wishes for this week, followed by a small bit of time for diary writing in the classroom. Then it will be teeth brushing, story time with our class novel ‘Holes’ and bed (and definitely sleep after a long first day!)

Some memorable quotes from today:
"Are we in Wales yet?” (As we passed Brent Cross).
(Anonymous pupil, Class 6)

“Is this near Hornsey?” (As we crossed the River Severn into Wales).
(Anonymous pupil, Class 6)

"PEPPA PIG!”
(2 anonymous pupils as they splashed in puddles on Blorenge Mountain, Class 6)

“My mum hates it when I get my shoes dirty!”
(Anonymous pupil, Class 6 as they splashed in puddles in their wellies!)

Spoiler alert:
Tomorrow's activities are...canoeing and horse riding (Groups 2 and 3) and River Study (Group 1).

Goodnight and farewell from Pendarren on Day 1! We’ve had a really great day and it feels like we have done so much already! Tune in tomorrow for more pictures, tales and memorable quotes!