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Welcome to our Zinal Blog. We hope you enjoy reading about our adventures in Switzerland in the snow.


Tuesday 16th December


Last day of skiing.


When we finished the different slalom competitions, we collected our skis and things and took them back to the storeroom in the hotel.


The afternoon was spent packing, playing on our games stuff and then going to the medal ceremony in the late afternoon. After dinner, there were the last activities with the monitors, a final check of our stuff to bring home and then bedtime.



Monday 15th December


We were quite tired today after the disco and four days skiing, so we got up a little later for breakfast.

People who were very tired, or had some minor things wrong could choose to ski, or go out with Mr Spalding as he wasn't skiing.



In the afternoon, we did activities with the monitors, like finishing out t-shirts. The t shirts look great with some very thoughtful designs.



After dinner it was the "Flambeau" and carol singing in the village of Zinal. After we came back, we all had hot chocolate.



Sunday 14th December


Early skiing today, since we are now in the morning group.



Some people missed out because they had little knocks from falling, or other small things like sore toes from ski boots. It was a mix of different people from the ones who missed skiing on Saturday.

In the afternoon we went to the Christmas Market in Grimentz. We went with the Swedish class. We all had hot chocolate, then we spent some time shopping for gifts. Grimentz is very quaint, with small wooden chalets.



The evening activity was the disco. The monitors organised and ran the disco. Everyone had the chance to dress up and have some fun.



Saturday 13th December


We started the day as normal by getting up at around 07:45 and going for breakfast.

After breakfast we had some free time, so the children in each room could choose to visit each others' rooms and play on their games consoles for a short time, read or do other quiet activities. We also wrote part of our Zinal diary.

Before lunch, we went for a short walk in the sunshine and saw the older part of Zinal village and the avalanche basin which is designed to stop avalanches hitting the village. We looked through Mr Spalding's binoculars to see the top part of the mountain where avalanches might start.

After lunch, we went skiing. Some people didn't ski today because they had small problems like blisters from their ski boots. They stayed in the hotel with the monitors, then Mr Spalding, and played games. Mr Spalding took the rest of the class to the slopes then came back.

In the evening, after dinner, it was the Santa Lucia parade by the Swedish, Danish and Finnish sections. In our monitor workshop, we worked on our t-shirts.

Our guest blogger today is Beatrise Sulte. She wrote:
"Today in the morning, I got to play with my ipad and then I went for a walk.  When I went skiing today, I had to go down a steeper hill and I didn't make it once without falling. My skiing wasn't as good as other days, but it was OK. the best part of the day was going up in the ski gondola because it in fun."

Tomorrow, we switch to morning skiing.



Friday 12th December



Today, we got up at around 07:45 as usual and had our breakfast. At room inspection, two girls' rooms and one boys' room scored a perfect 10.



After breakfast, we got some pocket money and went shopping in Zinal. The gift shop which sold postcards and the supermarket were the most popular. We were supposed to visit a small farm after the shopping trip, but we couldn't find it ! We walked all the way to the end of the village, but there was no sign of any farm. Then on our way back, we saw three small cows outside a house. That was the farm !



By the time we spotted the farm, it was time to get ready for lunch, then skiing. Perhaps we can visit the farm another day.



Everyone in the beginners' group did very well today and is now ready to try some steeper slopes. The people in the advanced group were whizzing around using the ski tow to go to the higher slopes.

After skiing, the parents'  letters were given out. We will write our replies tomorrow.  Soon it was dinner and then the evening activities. This evening, we all chose different activities to do that were organised by the monitors. Each activity had children from different sections in it as well as people from our class or the Lux 2 English class.



Mr Van Wissen came to visit us today and see how we were doing.

It was a very busy evening, so there was no time for guest bloggers today.

Thursday 11th December



First day on the slopes !



After breakfast, we spent some time tidying our room for the room inspection. Out of 7 rooms, 5 are in equal first place.



We went to the local swimming pool, which is attached to the hotel and played around for an hour. The Swedish class were with us in the pool for a while.



After swimming, it was time for lunch.



After lunch, we got all our ski gear together and went up the mountain. The advanced skiers were sorted into groups whilst the beginners started their first lessons. Well done to all the beginners who managed to ski down a small slope doing turns and stopping after only 3 hours of instruction.



To give a pupil perspective on today, we have 3 guest bloggers.



Ines Ryan in the beginners class:

"Jean Luc is a very nice teacher. I think that he wants you to do your best and he is very supportive.
It was a lot of fun. You fall down a few times, but it is a lot of fun.
I would give today 9.5 / 10.
The best bit for me was going down the slope where you had to go around the cones."



Frobi Howarth in the intermediate class:

"We went up to the mountains and put on our skis and went skiing.
It was really awesome.
My score for the day was 10 / 10.
I never fell down and tomorrow, I might be moving group. My best bit was when I saw the view of the Alps. It was amazing."



Nikola Milanovski in the advanced class:

We went skiing high up in the Alps in Zinal.
I liked it a lot. I was put in the top group out of Lux 1 and Lux 2.
I would rate it 10 / 10.
My favourite part was when we got to speed downhill."



Look out for our next guest bloggers.

In the evening after dinner, we made some cards with the monitors. Then it was bed time.

Wednesday 10th December.

Up, not too early, for breakfast and starting the day. The weather was cold, but not too extreme.

We spent part of the morning collecting our ski equipment and now we are ready for the slopes tomorrow. We also organised our rooms and sorted out our clothes.

The morning activities included writing a part of our Zinal diary and completing some work about the Alps. After lunch we went out to play some games near the hotel with Mr Spalding and the monitors from Mons. Then we went for a walk in the village. We tried to complete an orienteering course that had been set up in the village, but it was very tough - not enough detail on the map.

We had some activities with the monitors in the early evening before dinner. We played team games and had brilliant fun with the "Wool Game" which involves telling a story whilst winding up a ball of wool ! We also played a guessing game where one person had to guess who was making the group follow their lead.

Dinner was pasta or meat. After dinner we played charades with Mr Spalding, then had an activity with the monitors and all 300+ children about saving the Zinal glacier from global warming.

Bed time at 9o'clock so we are ready for tomorrow and our first day of skiing.