Woodrush Star June 2013 | Page 23

The Jack the Ripper trip was an exciting memorable experience. The day started off with us having to get to school at 6:50 which many of us were not pleased with, however once we set off on the coach everyone was smiling and all hyper eating sweets at 7 in the morning. The coach journey was about three hours long and most of us were really tired but too excited to sleep. First we went to the National Archives Museum where we learnt lots of new interesting facts. We entered the conference room and here we researched the policing methods used to catch Jack. We also saw some outstanding documents like the ‘Dear Boss’ letter. Mr Cannon said “It was the most exciting thing in his life” to witness the letter. After two hours at the museum we had a 20 minute lunch break in the park and the set off on a 40 minute journey to visit White Chapel for a tour of where the murders took place. Our tour guide was dressed up and spoke like a typical 1800’s local bringing the story to life and creating a visual image in our minds. Our tour included walking around the streets of White Chapel and we saw where the victims were killed, however the sites are mainly car parks HUMANITIES HUMANITIES Jack the Ripper Trip now. The whole tour lasted an hour and half until we set back home on the long journey. We all had an amazing day after all and really enjoyed it and the teachers were all especially fantastic. Written by Bethany 8B1 Woodrush meets St Mary’s On the 8th March youth workers from St Mary’s Church, 32 Year 7s, along with some young leaders from Years 9, 10 and 11, and Woodrush teachers Mr Cannon and myself (Miss Kaur) set off to Whitemoor Lakes, Tamworth for the weekend. On arrival Year 7 very quickly got their luggage into the lounge in order to make it in time for some fish and chips for dinner and the first of 3 Youth Alpha sessions; sessions that were expertly delivered by members of St. Mary’s Church. Once settled into rooms, after a few games of table tennis and pool, it was off to bed ready for the very busy day ahead. Saturday morning beckoned and after a very nice cooked breakfast it was time for archery, canoeing, abseiling and zip wiring. Well done to all the Year 7s that conquered many fears with the encouragement of their friends during some of these activities. A special mention to Luke and myself for hitting the bullseye during archery! Ria also deserves special mention for being the most consistent player, hitting the number 5 on all shots! It was then off to lunch and the next Youth Alpha session of Balloon Carnage which was great fun, despite Mr Taylor’s team winning! We then did the next lot of activities, which was canoeing for two of the groups. It was very interesting to watch Mr Cannon, Ria, Jo, Sophie and Year 7s play the canoeing version of football – although I’m not quite sure who won! After we all got warmed up and checked the football scores (Mr Cannon would like to point out that WBA won 2-1!), it was time for dinner of chicken and rice, with strawberry cheesecake for dessert. As the weekend was coming to an end we had our last ‘Youth Alpha session’ and not to mention our own Woodrush meets St Mary’s awards evening – including the award for the Best Onesie (Charlie) and the award for the Dynamic Duo (Laura and Emily) and a huge congratulations to Heather who won an IPod shuffle. Pupils then took part in an extreme team session which involved wrapping a pupil on their team up as a Mummy. The night ended with some indoor football some fantastic goals by Luke, Keisha, Melissa, and Emma. It should also be pointed out that the girls won overall, a great effort! Last day dawned and it was freezing cold and snowing, although the students were not put off doing some more abseiling, zip wire and canoeing. They cheered each other on while trying to keep warm. Mr Cannon showed us all how to go upside down without holding onto the rope on a zip wire – and was compared to ‘Spider Man’ while the Year 7s watched. A massive well done to you all, especially Mr Taylor’s groups for getting in those canoes in VERY cold water. A lovely weekend ended with a Sunday lunch, lots or pictures and our very own version of the Harlem Shake!!! A huge thank you to Dean, Ria and Sophie from St Mary’s Church and Mr Cannon for all their hard work and commitment to the weekend and also to the Woodrush students. Thank you to our young leaders for their outstanding efforts and hard work too. 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