Easter Arrives Early For Our Boarders
Country singer, Tim McGraw, once said that there ain’t no troubles that we can’t rise above, without a handful of faith and a heart full of love. Our last weekend of the Spring term was one of those times when, if your faith was waning in mankind, your spirits would have been lifted.
Saturday was filled with a variety of activities to keep everyone happy and entertained. While the senior boys had hockey matches, some of the boarders enjoyed games in the woods and the adventure playground; others dabbled in DDR and making their Easter bonnets.
The obscure reference to Tim McGraw will make sense in a minute or two. The Easter Feast is supper in the Dining Hall with a twist. The tables are beautifully decorated and the children are treated to an extra special meal and the most elaborate Easter-themed pudding…certainly not for the faint-hearted! Easter bonnet hats were paraded and judged and winners were announced – please see the pictures posted. Before the night’s entertainment kicked off, Mr White announced 4 new boarding monitors: our congratulations go out to Satine, Izzy, Benji and Charlie. Once the applause died out, the words that every child was waiting to hear, were uttered: Please make your way across to the Theatre, The Johnsons are waiting for you! (The Johnsons are a live country band, an 8-strong band, ready and primed to entertain 100 odd children…and a few die-hard country music fans in the adults!).
The children were royally entertained and a few were invited to join the band on stage. A real treat!
Sunday morning arrived, with the smell of a full-English breakfast awaiting us. After breakfast, Mrs Hughes shared an inspiring message at Chapel – our handful of faith was warmly received! Letter writing followed and the activities began. All the children enjoyed an Easter egg hunt and were spoilt for choice: go-karts were tearing up the track, the ovens were baking traditional South African rusks, the woods were filled with smoke and giggling children, faces were being painted, the kayaks were bouncing around, and fun-sports took place in the sports hall…to name but a few of the activities on offer.
After a scrumptious roast lunch, Part 2 began…more cooking, free swimming, Nerf wars and fun outside took place. The children had a great time in the afternoon session which ended with a warm mug of hot chocolate. The Year 8s went on a stunning circular walk around the village of Kingsdon – my sincere apologies in advance to the laundry folk – they are clearly still children who love muddy puddles! The late afternoon was the start of the wind-down. The children made their way to CINE HZG, got comfy in the theatre, tucked into some popcorn and enjoyed a film.
As always, these weekends can only happen because of the incredibly committed and dedicated adults who are such an integral part of the success of our boarding at HZG. A big thank you to everyone for making the Easter In Weekend such a roaring success. And as I said to the children at supper time, a big thank you to them for being such wonderful company and for looking after each other so well this term – our hearts full of love.
Mr Schreiber
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