Dunedin School has a long relationship with the Edinburgh based charity The Green Team, whose purpose, connecting young people to nature, we wholeheartedly subscribe to. But, circumstances have meant that we have not worked with The Green Team for a year or two so it has been a pleasure to re-engage a group of our pupils with them over the last couple of months. Vogrie Park, just to the south east of Edinburgh, has been the location for a number of full-day visits by pupils, working under the guidance of Millie from The Green Team, and in conjunction with local rangers, to undertake a range of woodland conservation projects in the park. It’s not just about hard work though, pupils have very much enjoyed learning about other aspects of being outdoors, how to safely light fires, and to cook on them, how to safely use a range of tools, using natural materials to make Christmas wreaths, leaf sculptures, bark imprints, and have been introduced to a range of fun team games in the woods. The biggest challenge at this time of year of course can be the weather, and pupils have run the full gamut of autumnal/wintery weather, from the benign to the (near) extreme, dry and mild to windy and wet, to frosty and very cold, but they have persevered, stuck in there, kept at it, (if not necessarily fully embracing all the joys that the weather can throw at us at times!).
Well, if you insist, I mean really insist, I suppose cake it will have to be then. Not just any old cake though, but a Dunedin cake. Prepared in Dunedin. Baked in Dunedin. Decorated in Dunedin. Eaten in Dunedin.
When the tables at Dunedin are laden with cake and scones, and empire biscuits (and cake), and brownies (don’t forget the cake), and Viennese biscuits (cake, don’t forget the cake), and cookies (no, please, please, don’t forget the cake) well then it must be that time of year again (yes, cake time). Despite your blogger’s fixation with cake, we are of course talking about our annual charity coffee morning. This year our pupils’ chosen charity was YoungMinds, whose purpose is to “To stop young people’s mental health reaching crisis point”.
The Coffee Morning is a key date in the Dunedin calendar, preparation for which not only draws upon pupils baking skills, but is an interdisciplinary opportunity to plan, prepare and run a real live customer-facing, money-raising event, where success is dependent on the effort and commitment that our pupils give to it. From the selection process in choosing their charity, project managing preparation of all the bakes and cakes for the day, planning and ensuring an appropriate amount of crockery, cutlery, teapots and coffee pots, tables and chairs, contingency plans for weather, designing and sending out invites, preparing and rehearsing a pupil speech to guests, music, and getting everything ready for the day itself involves a lot of work and gives pupils invaluable practical experience.
Suffice to say then that the coffee morning was a great success, raising £345 for YoungMinds. On the day itself the sun shone, cake was devoured, speeches given, music played, laughter had, coffee drunk, dishes washed, tables cleared, brows wiped and sighs relieved. A huge thank you and congratulations to all of our pupils, you out-did yourselves, as we knew you would.
Sometimes things just come together and, for our annual school residential this year, that is exactly what happened. The biggest coterie of pupils we have ever had away, an ever-enthusiastic and, dare I say, hardworking staff team, new faces supporting Andy at Hebridean Pursuits, and the weather. Yes, you heard me right, the weather! Cold and crispy autumnal days, little or no wind and the sun shining. Even a dusting of snow on the high tops in the early morning. We walked, we climbed, we swam, we jumped, we drew and painted, we roasted marshmallows on the beach, sang along to guitar and flute, and wondered in awe at the Milky Way. We also cemented existing friendships, made new friends, found out things about ourselves, about others, what we have in common, what we like, what we don’t. We pushed our boundaries, got out of our comfort zone, stretched our limits. There’s no doubt about it, this year Coe Coe was very much go go.
Coffee and conversation? Coffee and conservation? Conversing about conservation over coffee? Cake, coffee, conversation and conservation? Cookies, cake, coffee…
It feels a long time ago now I know but back in the halcyon days of late Autumn our pupils made the decision that they would like to raise funds to support the Marine Conservation Society. Our annual coffee morning was the means to this end and, guided by the experienced hand of our Health & Food Technology teacher (and organiser par excellence) Gill, they swung into action. Come the day the sun shone, tables were laden, and guests, pupils and staff enjoyed a morning of chat and excellent fare. Speaking of par excellence, one of the highlights of the morning was the pupil address to our guests. Our pupil this year, Ida, brought the house down with a speech of humour with a serious edge, focusing on the damage being done to our oceans and how we all might contribute to alleviating that damage.
Fast forward to this term and we were pleased to welcome Caitlin Godfrey from the Marine Conservation Society to Dunedin School. Caitlin spoke about the work that the MCS does and how all of as individuals can help that work. Caitlin was pleased to accept a donation of £365.20 on behalf of Dunedin School.
And what of the future? We are looking forward to a whole school day out next term to a local beach to carry out a beach clean-up. There will very definitely be conservation happening. I would imagine there will be conversation as well. Coffee and cake? I very much hope so.
