On Friday 1st April, 5 members of staff and 37 pupils started their journey to Canada for the much-anticipated Jasper Ski Trip. The trip itself was exciting enough, but the fact that it had been postponed due to Covid, meant there was even more excitement that 'finally,' we were off! We arrived safely at Calgary airport and were greeted by our fantastic ski rep - John 'the great.' He made us all feel very welcome and was an excellent support to us all in the hotel, on the slopes and around the local town. Unfortunately, Mr Brain's luggage did not make the journey from Heathrow to Calgary and took a mini diversion to the unknown!
We had 6 days on the slopes, which were extremely quiet and safe, and the conditions were incredible. We were lucky enough to experience a fresh powder day, where it had snowed in the morning - it definitely made falling a lot less painful! Whilst on the slopes, the pupils were split into groups depending on their skiing experience and spent the three hours before lunch and two hours after in their groups. The instructors were fantastic, patient and helped our pupils to make huge amounts of progress over the course of the week! As staff it was great to see the full range of abilities on the slopes and how supportive our pupils were of one another - helping each other up, trying new tricks and really testing themselves. Every morning during breakfast we awarded the 'Doughnut of the Day' for the pupil (or staff). A huge well done to our doughnuts throughout the week: George, Nic, Jude, Cara, Eva and Ollie!
During the evenings we enjoyed a number of activities including an all you can eat pizza night, Mr Reynolds hosting a quiz, trips to the local shops, the amazing views over Jasper in the sky tram and nights in the hotel swimming pool and hot tubs! However, the two nights of the 'room inspections' were a definite highlight, with the pupils putting on shows, performances, dances and completing challenges to gain full marks in creativity, tidiness, and cleanliness. It proved to be an extremely successful way of making sure the pupils' rooms were tidy! On our final day, we had an early start so that we could stop by the Calgary Olympic Park and the CrossIron Mills shopping outlet before heading to Calgary airport.
As we approached the end of our wonderful trip, Mr Brain presented every pupil with a certificate specific to them, ranging from our most improved award to our 'uncontrollable limbs' award! The Sixth Form pupils were asked to present the staff certificates too. All in all, we had a fantastic trip and could not be prouder of our pupils for their immense progress on the slopes, their outstanding behaviour the entire duration of the trip and for being brilliant ambassadors of Sherfield School. Next stop... Sherfield Ski Trip 2023!
Miss Martinez, Deputy head of Prep - Year 7 & 8
