This week, Sidcot students and staff have been getting involved in a whole range of House Activities in aid of chosen charities, Cancer Research UK and Mind. Mrs Cheung, the Chief Organiser, has provided a first-hand account of this exciting week!
"What a fantastic week we have had raising money for Cancer Research UK and Mind.
On Monday, we started off with a staff vs student volleyball match in the garden, followed by a very popular cake sale on Tuesday.
The main event was our Race for Life on Wednesday afternoon down on the sports field. As I walked through the field and witnessed all the officeholders working together at their stations, students having a great time, and staff assisting with everything, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment. Despite enduring an onslaught of rugby mats from Tom Church, getting stuck in the stocks with wet sponges flying towards me (which might be my least fine moment at Sidcot so far!), and having multiple cups of water thrown at me by various students, I couldn't have asked for a better day!
The 2km run, of which the last 500m was an obstacle course set up by the officeholders in the morning, was the highlight of the afternoon. Students had to jump over hurdles, dodge balls flying across the route, run with a parachute, and so much more, finally crossing the finish line and receiving their well-deserved medals.
There were also lots of fun activities going on in the field, all organized by various officeholders. Cherie Choi (Y12) led a team of students doing beautiful face paintings, Leonie Wasserman (Y12) had a great idea to run a thrift store selling second-hand clothes collected from the boarding house, and Diana Arushanian mixed some lovely mocktails which were very popular and refreshing after the run. So much more went on, and everyone had massive smiles on their faces.
I would like to say a particular 'Thank You' to the Sidcot PTA who sponsored the cost of the stalls for House Charity so that 100% of the donations can go to Mind and Cancer Research UK.
We finished off the week with a series of new staff mini challenges, and a dress-down Friday, where students were encouraged to wear pink and blue to raise awareness for both charities.
This included a challenge where students/staff sponsored their teachers to wear a blow-up unicorn costume. Ali Shurville was the first unicorn, followed by James Milne doing roll call as a unicorn in Wing house. With several additional teachers donning the suit today this challenge will contribute more than £200! Well done to everyone involved.
Mr Cartwright also pledged to die his hair pink and wear a pink tutu if we raised £100 towards House Charity – of course we smashed the target! Doesn’t he look great?
Finally, Mr Holdsworth agreed to do a leg wax in the Hub for £5 per strip. What a fantastic way to raise money following on from the success of this with Tom Church last year!
Florian, the Finance Director for House Activities, spent the week adding up all the donations and has let us know that we raised over £3,500! What a fantastic effort from all involved, and I hope all the students had a fantastically fun week.
That's all from me for now. I look forward to passing the baton to Sarah Davies and taking on a more background role next year!
- Ms. Cheung