Highlights from the weekend

Ice on the Merrimack at Newburyport

The crowd of tourists around John Harvard - I couldn't get near enough to touch his foot for good luck!

The rocks off Rockport - Mr Bidmead is about halfway along if you can find him!

Mr Bidmead's favourite. The rocks on Halibut Point

The view out from Gloucester - this was the setting for the film, 'A Perfect Storm'

More people at Harvard square

The library at Harvard

The ducks in Boston Public Gardens - these come from the book by Michael McKlosky

Tom Garner's Photos:

The view from the train this morning.

Outside Cheers (where nobody knew my name!)

This cake was larger than it looks, the lemon on the side was supposed to give an idea of the size but was also quite large...

Weather Report

Hello all,

It's Tuesday evening and we are getting ready to go back to school tomorrow morning.

It has been very snowy today but the ploughs and gritters are keeping the roads open and safe. As it is expected to stop (or at least slow down significantly) overnight it is not expected to interfere with a normal school day tomorrow. In true New England style we will probably all be shovelling snow to get our cars out in the morning (or using snow blowers if we're really lucky), but once on the road we should all be fine.

The plan for the day was to go into Boston and visit the Prudential Building as it offers a fantastic view over the city but with very poor visibility expected our hosts at Pingree may have an alternative plan instead.

We will try and get you some details of what the students have been up to tomorrow but I know that a number of them have visited Harvard Square (touching the shoe of John Harvard for luck) and Boston as well visiting the coast and enjoying some of the local American cuisine.

Boston is a fantastic city and The Freedom Trail offers a great opportunity to see the city and pick up the basic narrative of the American Revolution in Boston. The Bunker Hill Memorial and the USS Constitution are both well worth a visit as is Quincy Market if you want to be blown away by the sheer variety of food available in one place.

Our next post should be from the students themselves and give an insight into their travels and experiences over the weekend and hopefully some photos to go with them.

RB

General photos (courtesy of Alex H)

Photos from JFK (courtesy of Tom G)

Friday 12th February - Almost the holidays!

We have just returned from a fascinating day out at the Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. The museum is an amazing tribute to JFK and indeed to those around him. All the information was presented really well and it was accesible for all. The only problem was that I could have spent far more time there and Dave and I could have discussed every exhibit!
Again the weather has been super and the photos outside the Library stand testament to that.

On the way home we went to the mall for lunch. Mr Bidmead and I decided to sample the Dunkin Donuts. We were undecided on the strawberry jelly donut. It was a thumbs up from Mr Bidmead and a bit of a thumbs down from me I'm afraid!
Tom informs me that MacDonalds is much better here as you get ten chicken nuggets and not six in the American meal - he says, and I quote, "It's the best!".

Some of the students have left school ready for what promises to be an action packed weekend. Having spoken to the parents last night it sounds as though there will be trips to Harvard, Boston, Lake Placid, Maine to name but a few.

Happy holidays to all!

The JFK Museum

Hello again,

We've just arrived back from a great day out at the JFK Museum and the students are preparing to go with their host families for the long weekend.

Today started with 'community time' for the whole school in the auditorium and, unlike our assemblies, the Head spoke briefly (apologising for the cancellation of school despite non-existant snow) before Staff and students made any announcements they wanted to about clubs,societies sports etc. The assembly was finished with a rendition of God Save the Queen in our honour which was much appreciated.

After this Dave took us to the JFK Museum in the minibus and we had an opportunity to find out a little bit more about "the closest thing America has to royalty." The museum was fascinating and there was far more to see than we could really appreciate in our morning visit and I would strongly recommend anyone travelling to Boston to see this museum dedicated to a truly inspirational man.

After the museum we stopped at a 'mall' to get some lunch (McDonalds seemed to be the overwhelming favourite despite Mrs Cross' valiant attempt to drum up support for Subway) and have a look around a few of the shops.

Now everybody can look forward to their long weekends in MA with some students going tonight to watch plays put on by their hosts, others to watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics (not in the flesh sadly), or to the Cinema. The majority seem to have a weekend of shopping planned in Boston, the host families have also been putting their heads together for a couple of whole group activities which should give the students a real taste of American life.

Thats all for today folks, enjoy your weekends and rest assured that we are all having a great time here.

RB