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FAMILY WEEKEND: 8th to 10th JUNE 2007

This year’s Family Weekend at YHA River Dart, near Brixham in Devon, was a great success. To read a full report from Monica, find out what some of the parents thought and see a selection of photos from the weekend then visit this special page.

SKI & SNOWBOARD SUCCESS

A second skiing, snowboarding and toboganning day took place on Saturday 10th February at the High Action Centre, Churchill.  Lots of children of all ages took part, and a great time was had by all!  Thank you very much to Ecclesiastical Insurance for their support of this event, and also to Donna West and Gemma Smith for volunteering to help with Communication Support on the day.

FAMILY ACTIVITY DAY – A GREAT SUCCESS - SUNDAY 1ST APRIL 2007

On 1st April 2007 the people - 37 children and 14 adults enjoyed doing the activities - climbing & abseiling, archery and assault course. The assault course was the most popular activity as the children loved getting wet and muddy! Many thanks to 6 volunteers, interpreters and communication support worker for making it a great success. The sunny weather helped too! The activities were funded by Ecclesiastical Insurance. Click here to see the photos of the day...

Gorge-ous Family Fun Day Success

Family Centre worked closely with the Avon Wildlife Project and Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project to make their recent Family Fun Day accessible to families with deaf children.  Two communication support workers and volunteers accompanied groups on their tour of the Downs, in Bristol where they met costumed characters including a hedgehog, bees, shepherds, caterpillars and different types of birds.  They explained about the importance of their animal in the ecosystem of the Downs and enabled the children to answer questions along the trail which resulted in a certificate at the end of the route.  Craft activities such as badge making and making masks were available, as well as storytelling about different species of birds deciding who should be ‘King of the Birds’.  Approximately 25 people attended which was great and positive feedback from all parties means that Family Centre may be working with the Wildlife organisations to make more of their future events accessible to families with deaf children

June Fabulous Family Weekend

Forty nine children and adults braved the scorching hot weather in their travels to Llangorse, Wales for Family Centre’s annual weekend away in early June.  The children were kept busy with on-site activities and an enormous field adjacent to our massive farmhouse to play games and run around in.  Adults had the luxury of sitting in the sun sipping drinks, knowing their children were happily playing with old and new friends.

“A big thank you to Family Centre who organized what was a lovely weekend in Wales. The weather was fantastic and a good time was had by all. On the Friday we arrived at about half five, got settled into the accommodation, then had supper and a few drinks. Saturday was horse riding and swimming day, and in the evening we all had a BBQ and played games in the field. Sunday morning was taken up by indoor rock climbing and abseiling where all the kids showed great courage and bravery. In the afternoon we were supposed to climb up one of the  hills, but it was so hot we decided to go to the boating lake instead.  Can’t wait till next year to do it all again!, Cheers”   Gavin McCreadie (dad).