We were able to get going with our annual 'Take on the Teachers' challenge in school today. Having been so enjoyable and a big memory for all our pupils we thought it good to get it going now before the really wet weather comes along. Miss Falls along with the Student Council put the wheels in motion.
Our first challengers were the P1's who challenged us to Cups and Saucers. This event was also set for P1 last year and we knew we had our work cut out for us. We set a timer for 1 minute and the aim of the 18 children was to turn the cones to saucers and the teachers had to turn them to cups. After the minute the whistle sounded, and two volunteers counted the cones. P1 managed 46, whilst the teachers only managed 4. This was much worse than last year's tally and definitely not the start the teachers had wanted.
Children 1 - 0 Teachers
Challenge two was set by the P2's and this was again star jumps. The timer was set to 60 seconds and the aim was to try and do as many as possible. The target set was 72 by Tommie with his nearest classmate around 46. We have literally no idea how he didn't achieve flight by flapping his arms and legs so fast. The teachers were already resigned to being 2-0 down, but they had to try. After 60 seconds for the teachers the scores were counted and it turned out that Mr Rouse had 72 although his counter tried to say that it was 71... Special mention must go to Mrs Bradley who scored a whopping 70 of her own and Mrs Hegarty with a 69! A tie!
Children 2 - 1 Teachers
Challenge three was from the P3's and this was a bean bag toss. The aim was simple, the closer to the bullseye, the greater the score. P3 went first, each pupil getting two throws, and had a very respectable score of 30. The teachers stood up next and with only 6 members of staff they were to have 4 throws each to equal the 24 shots of the Primary 3's. It only took 4 members of staff to equal the total and in quite emphatic style. The feathers had well and truly been ruffled and the teachers were down to business. Finally, a point!
Children 2 - 2 Teachers
Challenge 4 from the Primary 4 children was to play the 'Beans Game' and this was a shocker. After weeks of intense physical preparation from the staff, this was not a game that had been practised from anyone... anyone but P4!!! The aim was simple, listen for the command and act accordingly. Shouts of 'Runner Bean', 'Jumping Bean', 'French Bean', 'Jelly Bean' and even 'Beans on Toast' were called and the staff and pupils had to assume the correct position / action. This was a disaster, the staff showed they were nothing but 'has-beans' and were swept aside by the children.
Children 3 - 2 Teachers
Challenge 5 now and the teachers were under severe pressure. The gauntlet for P5 was dodgeball. The children were doing well and able to get off to a flier, helped by the depletion of staff numbers due to dinner time and duty for some staff. 5 brave souls took to the field for the staff, but they were knocked off their perches quite quickly. Only the brave and heroic Mr Rouse was left to try and field for the teachers, but even after 3 direct hits and two catches he had met his nemesis in the shape of Rose. Try as he might, she dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged her way to a victory! (Bonus points if you get the reference!)
Children 4 - 2 Teachers
Challenge 6, the penultimate challenge, and it was the turn of the P6 class. Having 10 pupils in P6 should have seen the teachers feeling less than confident, and when they found their stride, the children set a massive target of 67 skips. The teachers sent out two teachers lacking in morale, but high in confidence. Miss Caldwell and Mrs Bradley did the staff proud and somewhere over the mountain of 70 skips Miss Caldwell stopped to have the staff thinking they had a chance!
Children 4 - 3 Teachers
The final challenge. The make-or-break. The winners would be.... This final challenge saw only 3 P7's face off in a game of 'Shoot the Hoop'. There had been mooted suggestions from the crowd that the Teachers might actually wangle their way out with another draw, but Jamie, Dara and Cara had other ideas. in 2 minutes they shot 5 hoops. The teachers were elected, they thought their moment had come and stepped up nonchalantly to get going. They even managed to get Mrs Molloy out to help their cause, or so they thought. In two minutes that felt like 30 seconds, they only managed 3 hoops. They were done for. Battered. Bruised. Laps of honour from the victors did little to console broken hearts.
Unfortunately, the result...
A WIN FOR THE PUPILS!
CHILDREN 5 - 3 TEACHERS
A special word of thanks must go out to Annie, our independent adjudicator on the day who was exceptional at keeping the scores.
Until next year!
