Ciao!

After an extremely early start we have landed in Milan and are now on the coach to the hotel. We had a superb flight and managed to get a tour of the cockpit at the end of it. The pilot even let our students don his hat - see photos!

Our students have been fantastic ambassadors for the school at every opportunity so far and are now desperate to get to the hotel, see their rooms and unpack. After that it will be off to the ski shop to get kitted out with skis, poles and boots. Then it will be back to the hotel for our evening meal and an early night so that all are fit and ready for a full days skiing tomorrow.

 

Day 2 

It is 5.20pm and we are sitting in the bar area of our hotel having a well earned apre-ski of hot chocolate and tiramisu! It has been a tiring but very successful first day on the slopes with all students achieving individual successes. 

Comments from students below:

Seb: I like skiing in the snow the hotel posta is beautiful nice staff the food is delicious 

its been  a old busy day we went on to the mountains twice and we met the ski instructors to teach us how to ski on the slopes. It was slippy and everyone fell over! I wonder what people at school will do on Monday and where they will think we all are. I hope Mrs Gardiner knows that we are ok in Italy. We will see you all back on Friday afternoon - miss you all, Seb.

Aaron: today i we went skiing and then now we are in the bar. i am so tired after skiing but i don't feel like going to my room but soon we are about to have dinner and then watch a movie i think it is the lion king but after we HAVE to go to bed as we have more skiing in the morning  

Ellen: i have been doing really well at skiing  and i haven't even fallen over yet. and tonight we are in the bar having a drink! Jamie, Eloise and Abi have been saying that we are all missing school and that we all are think of you. I am really missing miss chalkley and  i am hoping to seeing you all on monday. Mr Jackson also skied he did really well hes a expert at skiing. i helped the young ones going up the magic carpet which goes all the way up to the next highest level. Hope you teachers have a fun day tomorrow at school and that you make sure the students behave. See you all on MONDAY. 

 

The Abbey team are now all either watching the Lion King or playing games in the hotel bar area. As luck would have it we have the hotel all to ourselves this week with the exception of two Polish guests! Our very accommodating hotel manager Mariano has done all he can to make us feel welcome particularly when it comes to food! Each evening meal consists of 4 courses and each lunch meal is 3 courses. Breakfast includes a choice of cereal, croissant, ham, cheese, yoghurt, juice, bread, hot chocolate and cake. Safe to say we are not going hungry and with the energy the students have all expended today they are eating very well! Josh, Seb, Daniel, Mr Kennedy, Connor and Aaron were all waiters for part of this evenings meal and wore hats to fulfil this role - see photos! 
 

Day 3 

Another long and very successful day. The students have improved more quickly than we expected and by the end of the mornings skiing all of the staff were both very impressed and very surprised! On another positive all of the students are remembering to put the correct kit on in the mornings and independently beginning to put on their ski boots and skis. A few students got a bit overconfident today which resulted in some hilarious mishaps but I will spare them the embarrassment of mentioning them by name (Daniel, Evan, Aaron and Bradley!) Everybody has now mastered the infamous travelator and a number of students have been on the button lift and a chairlift. Conditions were really cold this morning, some of the coldest I have ever skied in, but the weather was beautiful with clear blue skies and glorious sunshine. We are expecting more of this as the week progresses. This evening students had a dinner of pizza and chips followed by profiteroles. They then got an opportunity to pop to the local supermarket to spend some of their pocket money – you can probably guess what most came back with, yes that's right-more sweets! They then settled down to watch a film in the hotel lounge. Tomorrow night we have planned a disco which they are all very excited about. Hopefully Mr Kennedy will do one of his bingo sessions beforehand. It is now 9.50pm and all students are fast asleep, building up energy levels for another full on day tomorrow. Look out for more photos and updates! 

Day 4 

We are just over half way through our trip and every student is now skiing with confidence and ease. The 4am departure last Saturday morning now seems like such a long time ago! 

I am pleased to say that today has been a little warmer and once again we have had clear blue skies and sunshine. I joined one of our more advanced groups for the afternoon and had the pleasure of going high up in to the mountains. Once there I could not believe how fast this group were skiing and was amazed by the wonderful techniques that were on show. In fact we had such a good time that we were late getting back to the ski shop and missed the bus back to the hotel - much to the other staff and students amusement as they were driving away as we reached the bottom of the slope! At least we got some good photos which I have added below. Mrs Fulham and Mrs Whitehair also got a selection of fantastic photos that are included. 

The ski instructors have been so impressed with the enthusiasm, determination and commitment that all of our students have shown and have regularly commented on this throughout the week. They are all a real credit to our school. 

This evening we are having a disco vs film night with students choosing which they go to. I've opted for the quieter setting of the TV lounge and film! Tomorrow will be another full on day of skiing and I am certain that all students will make continue to make further progress with many venturing higher up into the mountains.Keep an eye out for more photos... 

Student comments:

Ellen: Today at skiing I got to move up to a much more higher level which i found a bit worried. When i was skiing i nearly fell over because we went on the chair lifts and when i got off i slipped on a icy bit of the snow but i was fine.Tonight some people have been having a disco and some people have finished of watching The Lion King which was scary but funny. I hope everyone is having a great day at school today and that everyone has worked hard and helped the teachers around. We all miss you and we cant wait to see you all on monday. Have a lovely weekend and teachers. bye

Daniel: 

I love the ski instructors! 

Day 5 

Some comments from students today: 

Josh: Today i  enjoyed skiing because i went on a chair lift and and when i got on the chair lift i sat on magnus and i managed this week to go on the button lift and the first time i fell of and tonight we are going to have a disco. Cant wait to see the the teachers on monday see you guys soon bye .

Patrick: I have really enjoyed the skiing trip already i have been on lots of ski runs with our really funny ski instructor we are all having a amazing time its #ACE cant wait for tomorrow because its our last skiing day tomorrow its been a BLAST. it was good 

Connor - In 3 days i have been on the ski lift i am afraid of heights it was fun and i went on the drag lift

Ellen: Today we went in the chair lift and we went to the highest level on the mountain and i was a bit scared because it was high. Then in the afternoon i went on the lowest bit of the slope and as i came down i fell and got snow down my back, i got very chilly. Mr Jackson joined our group for the morning and we all came down the mountain and i tried to do the parallel lines whilst skiing, it was hard. Tonight we are all chilling out in the bar playing games and having a film which is Ratatouille.we are all exhausted and some people don't want to ski again because its hard work. I hope you guys had a amazing day  at school today. and Mr Clyde I'm sorry that i missed my spelling test on monday. Can't wait to see you all on monday. Bye and good night. 

 

Our penultimate day has been full of personal achievements. Lots of students have gone higher into the mountains or managed to do things that they haven't been able to do before. The sense of pride amongst them has been delightful to see. So many have also helped one another when things have been challenging during the week. 

Today finished with a very loud disco courtesy of the hotel manager who had bought us a louder speaker to use today! Even the staff (including me!) joined in with the dancing although it has to be said Mr Gregory needed little encouragement. 

Tomorrow is our last day and there will be a short presentation at 5.30pm in our hotel. The 5 instructors that we have had for the week will be presenting certificates to all of the students which will be a lovely way to end the week. 

We are beginning to think more about coming home as the week draws to a close and although it has been an absolutely superb week both staff and students will be ready to return come Friday! 

Day 6 

Our final day of skiing is over! Skis, poles and boots have been returned, cases have been packed and we have had our final evening meal. This evening students had the opportunity to visit the local souvenir shop and spend their pocket money. They also went to the supermarket where they stocked up on snacks for the long journey home. If any of you were hoping for change from the 50 Euros you sent your child with I wouldn't expect much! 

We managed to take some fabulous photos on the slopes today which I hope you enjoy looking at. Yet again it was a stunning day with lots of sun. Three out of our four ski groups completed a variety of ski runs down through the mountains. This in itself is a huge achievement because we have never had more than one group manage to do this before. Our remaining group had a trip in a gondola ski lift this afternoon and enjoyed a drink in the mountain sunshine with Mr Kennedy, their ski instructor Gianni and me before retuning back to Aprica. They were an absolute delight to spend time with. 

This evening we had our 5 ski instructors come to Hotel Posta to present the students with certificates and badges. It was a lovely event to finish off the week with. It was also an opportunity for us to thank them as a school for being so caring, patient, kind and empathetic with our students. 

It has been a wonderful trip and one that I am sure the students will remember for many years to come. I am certain that as well as learning to ski it has benefited them all in a whole range of other ways that you will see on their return. Personally I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing them away as they have been so keen, enthusiastic, helpful and well behaved (most of the time!).  

We look forward to seeing you all back at school tomorrow but be prepared for some very tired young people!!!

Mr Jackson