SCHOOL SLEEPOVER 5^TH FEBRUARY 2010

At 5.00pm the staff began to arrange the hall, and unload their luggage from their cars. On seeing the huge pile of bags building up, we questioned whether it was in fact a fortnight that we were coming for, rather than just one night !

Bags of fruit, cereal, juice, milk and bread were carried to the school kitchen that was breakfast for 64 sorted out !

Several carrier bags of electric toasters nestled among the bags of wellies, and some bags gave out a gentle glass clinking sound when moved!

Piles of cut paper, and photocopied quizzes were unloaded from boxes, and coloured pencils and pens added to the pile. Plenty of craft activities to keep the children amused.

Dvds spilled out of bags how many did we think we would need? ( we’d all brought everything we had that was U certificate just in case ! )

Duvets, sleeping bags and pillows made it look like a bedding shop and that was before the children arrived with theirs.

Jackets, waterproofs, hats and gloves….plastic PE hoops, beanbags, blindfold goggles, a length of rope and an electric camp fire… we were ready for anything!!!

We lugged the PE mats on to the stage just enough for the staff to have 2 each piled on top of each other a luxury mattress by anybody’s account ! Once we had our bedding laid out it looked quite cosy, and was described as the Penthouse Suite !

Mr. Organ spent the best part of an hour setting up the cinema, as we raided our classrooms for extension leads and pieces of equipment as he requested them.

The staff dining table was set with crockery, cutlery, glassware and the necessary bottles ( vinegar, ketchup, red, white…etc ) all that was missing was the candles !

Finally we were ready to open the gate, and welcome the children. Bang on 6pm they flooded in ( how keen were the parents to get rid of them for the night ? ), and were sent off to cloakrooms and corners to store their bags and bedding, before returning to the hall for registration, and the opportunity to tackle one ofMr. Woodhead’s fiendish name quizzes.

At 6.20pm Mr. Purton, and Mrs. Sloper escaped from the excitement to head down to Bell’s to collect tea… 29 children’s sausage and chips, 25 children’s fish and chips, plus various assorted staff orders. At just after 6.30pm they returned with 2 huge cardboard boxes and a couple of bags, and we began the task of matching children to food fortunately they matched ! After that we had choc ices or lollies, and cleared away the debris from dinner. I think we had a total of 8 chips thrown away as leftovers don’t you ever feed your children ?!

We then divided into 3 groups, and began our evening activities.

Miss White, Mr. Organ and Mrs. Mantle took a group outside for team games, and trust activities in the mud.

Mr. Purton and Miss Arnott supervised a second group whilst they did art activities in the drama room.

Mrs. Cremer and Mrs. Sloper did some team building games in the hall

…and Mrs. Purton took photos of them all.

We then rotated the groups so that everybody did everything, and Mrs. Purton stayed with Miss White’s activity for the rest of the evening.

At about 10.00 we gathered in the Hall for drinks and biscuits, very excited, and about an hour later than we’d originally planned - everyone had been having so much fun, that we just hadn’t wanted to stop ! Mrs. Mantle went home, and Miss Atkinson arrived for the night shift.

Children were then despatched to put their tracksuits in to their bags, pop their slippers on, and come back to the hall with their bedding bag. We unrolled sleeping mats, shook out sleeping bags, and plumped up pillows, then the children settled in to their bags.

 At 10.28pm, with 2 minutes until lights out we were faced with the choice no dvd, and sleep on time, or dvd and a later lights out. Hmm….guess what we opted for?

So, having watched Merry Madagascar ( hardly seasonal, but a good choice as it was only 30 minutes long ), we were then ready for bed except we now all needed a toilet trip. Off they went, down they settled again. Then we remembered we hadn’t cleaned teeth, so we decided as it was a special treat we’d just do them in the morning ( sorry parents we’re normally very diligent about these things, but it was getting very late! )

So lights out finally happened at 11.30 although a small group of Year 6 boys didn’t quite grasp the concept of sleep immediately, and were shushed a few times. Several Year 4 pupils were asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows, having only returned from their residential trip to Sayers Croft at 3.00pm on Friday. Mrs. Sloper and Miss Arnott, who had also been with them, were given the luxury of sleeping in the staff room on sofas, away from the disturbed sleep of the hall it only seemed fair.

Have you ever shared a room with 60 other people? It’s not what you would call quiet as there are assorted snuffles, mutters, coughs, and wriggling sounds…not to mention the snoring from the male staff end of the stage ! How anyone slept is a miracle Miss White and Mrs. Purton spent quite a long time sitting up on the stage, wrapped in their bedding watching the acrobatics and night-time antics of the children fascinating to see them roll, turn, twist and sit up all whilst still sound asleep !

The toilet visits started around 4.30am, but as it was still dark, all returned to bed and sleep thank goodness, as we’d not long settled down ourselves by then. The first whispers began about 5.30am ( but were soon stopped with a sharp ‘SHH’ ).

At 6.00am Mrs. Purton and Miss White felt that they had had more than enough sleep, so got up and tried to make themselves look fairly respectable using the limited facilities that a school has to offer a cold water shower was not an option we fancied! Coffee and tea were soon brewing in the school kitchen, and various staff members joined us as they awoke.

At 7.00am we decided to wake the children most were still sleeping, so we gently turned on all the hall lights and wished them a good morning ( how else did you expect us to do it? )

Tracksuits were donned, and the first activity of the day was ‘put your sleeping bag back into its storage bag’ great fun to watch and well done to Sasha Lord who had obviously been practising for several weeks !

Bags were packed, faces were wiped with a damp flannel, and bedding was stored.

A table of toasters was set up, huge bowls of cereal were ready for serving, jugs of hot chocolate steamed on a table.

 The children queued up and selected their cereal strangely enough nearly all opted for Coco Pops because they aren’t allowed them at home ( yes, another rule broken by the teachers! ). Plates of hot toast were served to each table, and copious amounts of Nutella and jam were spread on them. Second and third helpings were offered and accepted by many well we didn’t want to take it home with us, did we?

Next was the washing up. Two large bowls of hot soapy water were set up on a table, along with a tray for cutlery, and a bucket for slops. The children lined up with their dishes and tea towel, dunked the dirty crockery in to the water, where Mrs. Purton wiped it with a J cloth, and they went back to their table to dry it and pack it. Simple !!

After breakfast, various staff members disappeared to clear away t.v. and computer equipment, food and utensils, and to wash the kitchen floor, whilst Mr. Purton taught all the children how to make a pair of origami pyjamas blue stripes for boys, and pink stripes for girls. During this session our early leavers went home for piano, dancing and swimming lessons.

Once all had finished the origami, Mr. Organ ( our resident scout leader ) took over, and the electric camp fire was placed in the middle of the circle, and the lights turned off. We had a good sing song, and tested our co-ordination with some of the action songs !.

The parents arrived in time for the 10 o’clock collection, and all the children went home, sleepy, but having had a very good time.

£1306.25

Thank you to all concerned.

More pictures from the sleepover can be found in our parents area.