Each year, GES pupils visit Sheikh Faisal’s Farm for a full day of sport, fitness and enrichment activities. This year, the menu included: 1km, 3km and 5km run; Ultimate Frisbee, football, volleyball, basketball, horse riding, ‘Paint the Pony’, taekwondo, Boxercise, Zumbatomics, Aspire MSSD training, rounders, media trail and a visit to Sheikh Faisal’s museum.
This event is a chance for students to find new ways to be active whilst enjoying the scenery, enriching their academic experience, challenging themselves physically and socializing with their peers in a safe and healthy environment.
On Monday, the Senior Girls and Y6 Girls joined together for their event. More girls than ever attempted the 3km run, with very many also going on to run the new 5km track. The Prep’ Girls took on the teachers at basketball and ran them ragged. They demonstrated that they are a force to be reckoned with and just why they medalled in this year’s SOP finals. As in previous years, the Boxercsie and Zumbatomics classes proved to be highly popular and our thanks go to Zara for attending again this year. The girls engaged proactively in the activities on offer and raved about the beautiful scenery. Their positive attitude to health and fitness was very encouraging.
On Tuesday, Y4 and Y5 pupils enjoyed the Junior Day. This was their first time to attend Fitness at the Farm and they fully embraced the provisions and the intention of the day. The students kept themselves active for the entire day, pushing their teachers to get them to the many sporting activities on offer. They equally enjoyed their time in Sheikh Faisal’s Museum and many kept going around the farm trails right up until the very last minute. This group particularly enjoyed the ‘selfie-trail’, where they walked over 5km to capture ‘selfies’ with the white Oryx, gazelle, peacocks, goats, geese and emus in quite idyllic setting. The ‘breakaway bus’ was hugely popular, creating excitement as the students rushed to join the bus for extra Zumba classes with Zara or boxing sessions with Mr. Ronan Banks.
On Wednesday, the Senior Boys and Y6 Boys joined together for their day at the Farm. This was a super busy, super active day, with many boys completing the 5km more than once! I was particularly impressed with Ahmed Sedaa and Ali Al Farsi Y9, who managed in excess of 13km, plus participation in a host of other activities; these boys are certainly great role models for their peers.
All in all, we had three days of red cheeks, sweaty brows and smiling faces. The children made a useful contribution to their health and wellness and quite simply had a great time with their friends.
