ETA @ SCHOOL

We should be back at HF at 3pm Please do NOT park in the bus layby as the 2 coaches will need to use these Thanks G Thorp

Landed safely

We have landed safely at Heathrow and will begin the last leg of our journey soon. I will update the blog with an ETA at school as soon as the coach drivers can give me one.

Shop till you drop

All enjoyed the visit to Niagara Currently at the shopping mall for some retail therapy before the flight home at 20:30 Will attempt to blog once landed at Heathrow with an ETA back at school

CN tower pics

The viewing platform  Getting down with kids. The glass floor for the holy family girls not the glass ceiling  Toronto by night from the top of the CN tower 

Day Six: Floating on Air

We departed Mont Saint Anne early this morning as a heavy snow storm rolled in covering the mountain in a ghostly mist creating a dramatic scene for our departure.  After a fairly uneventful journey, we arrived at the beautiful city of Toronto. Our journey into the city allowed us to see a fantastic panorama of the skyscrapers and iconic Lake Ontario which excited the pupils, many who have never seen a sight quite like it.  After dinner, we decided to take a bracing walk to the CN Tower, currently the ninth tallest building in the world. The two kilometre walk, through the streets of Toronto, allowed us to see the city's fantastic architecture and culture.  The tower itself was an extraordinary feat of engineering and the pupils were in awe of the views at the top. The highlight was undoubtedly the glass floor, allowing the pupils to float 447 metres above the ground.  So another hectic and tiring day comes to and end. Tomorrow is our final day, seeing us visit another icon of North America: Niagara Falls. Everyone is very excited but also looking forward to getting home as I keep overhearing how much loved ones at home are being missed.  

All in Toronto safe - just

Full blog will be published later but we've arrived safely in Toronto and checked into the hotel.  We've got a quick turn around before dinner and then off to the CN Tower tonight.  Finally, Wifi is quite expensive here at the hotel so please don't worry if you child can't get in touch. 

Day Five: Soaring with the Screaming Eagles

Today was the final day on the stunning slopes of Mont Saint Anne and everyone was keen to impress one final time.  Once again, conditions were excellent and lovely large snow flakes floated down onto the mountain for most of the day. The groups were now becoming  harder to find on the mountain due to their increased speed and ability meaning they are either flying through forests or disappearing down blue runs. However, whenever we did manage to find them they were always in great spirits and enjoying themselves thoroughly. One such example was Dennis' school which consisted of George Currie, Max Gillies, Taylor Lloyd, Owen Connor, Freya Hughes, Poppy Bermingham-Byrne, Kate Jackson, Amy Jenkins, Joe Donnelly and Leo Halewood who I found at the top of the mountain.   Another group that I managed to catch up with was Sylvie's group, who needed a little bit of encouragement to get up to the top of the mountain but the reason for this was beyond me as they showed great agility when descending down a difficult slope. The group which included birthday girl Ria-Lea Davies, Molly Cashen, and Amelia Weedall don't really need to worry as it is clear they have done fantastically well this week. Unfortunately, not everyone has been able to completely master the art of skiing this week but a special mention should go to Sarah-Jane Riley, who after taking a fall on the first day, has struggled with her confidence.  However, her determination and resilience to keep on going has been admirable and she should be very proud of herself.  Finally, we did have to wait a little longer for one final group to arrive back this afternoon. The team of Ella Armstrong, Luke Dawson, Charlie Banks, Patrick McDonald, Megan Grierson, Emily Conlan and Callum O'Brien had been transformed into reindeer on the final run. Either that or they'd crashed into a number of trees as they all had branches protruding from their helmets. The day concluded with the groups presenting their instructors with the priceless memento of a Holy Family bobble hat. It was a lovely moment with many of the instructors having gotten gifts for their groups as well. The instructors of the ski schools have been fantastic and I know the kids will be tremendously grateful for their wise teachings. The instructors had only wonderful things to say about their groups as well. The evening activity was the eagerly anticipated ice hockey game so after dinner it was once again into the yellow buses and onwards towards Quebec City.  We arrived at the Centre Videotron just in time for the start of the Quebec Remparts against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Most of the pupils decided to support the Screaming Eagles on the strength of their much more exciting name. They didn't leave disappointed as the Screaming Eagles were victorious by 5 goals to Quebec's 2 in an extremely exciting game that was a fast paced, end to end thriller. There was even a fight!  So that concludes our time in Quebec. Tomorrow, we travel to Toronto and will explore the city and reach the top of the CN Tower.  L