Last Saturday, Northfields held a successful ?fun day? with original activities. This was the first event organised by the school since the setting up of the parents and teachers? committee in January.

?Mum, I just stroked the lions!? That sentence pronounced by a six year old girl may sound weird at first sight. Especially because she said it while she was in school, unless the lions she was talking about were only soft toys. But she proved to be right. Indeed last Saturday, Northfields International High School organised a ?fun day?. In order to make the day more exciting, the organisers brought in two lion cubs by special arrangement with the directors of Casela. Moreover, the children were allowed to get in the cage with the cubs to take pictures with them. The cubs were there from 8 am to 12 pm, and for many this was the main attraction. One of the students of Northfields, Sheena, said: ?It was a nice event and many parents had come and contributed to make it successful. The main attraction was surely the cubs. Hopefully the school has been able to make some money.?

Pony rides were another main attraction. Besides these two activities, there were plenty of other activities organized to keep everyone busy and to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Football and table tennis were among them. Funnily enough, the table tennis was not very easy as each one tried to challenge Christophe Vhythylinghum, a member of the national team. Even those who considered themselves to be very good players had to go home defeated by the champion. Actually, one of the participants was very keen to take on Christophe but finally went home after being beaten 11-0. For the ones less interested in sports, there was a bouncy castle in the school yard. For the younger generation, there was something called ?monkeynastics? which was a kind of gymnastics for the under sevens.

According to Clive Roger Barnes, Headmaster of the school, the aims were to raise funds and offer interesting activities outside the classroom. For the Headmaster of the school, this event was also a great opportunity to establish good communications between the students? parents and the teachers. He explained: ?I believe that the fact that this event brings in parents can prove to be very beneficial for the students and for the development of the school itself. To see parents showing such an interest in the school?s events as they did today was tremendous as they may play a key role in developing the school. As a matter of fact, many parents made some donations.? Furthermore, he concluded: ?this was the first main event this year; there are many more still to come.?

Harmonious atmosphere

Amongst members of the public, even some youngsters who had already left school came to have an idea of what the event was all about. Ava Thancanamootoo was impressed by the atmosphere: ?The atmosphere was great. The real essence of the fun day was felt in the warm and harmonious atmosphere. It was a really enriching event. Unlike the school I go to and the other schools in the island, Northfields tends to be very family orientated. This is why if I was in this school I would have a great sense of security.?

A rainy end to the day did not prevent some children from asking their parents to let them stay longer. The main objective in organising this event was to get funds to buy equipment for the school. For example, an LCD television and brand new chairs, tables and so on for the school yard. The idea behind this is simple; the headmaster?s words are clear, give the children a certain comfort to further motivate them to come to school everyday.

Linda Ramasawmy, President of the PTC at Northfields was the main organizer of the event. She was left delighted after the ?fun day?: ?It was a wonderful day. I am extremely satisfied with the way things went.? What she liked in particular was the fact that this event managed to unite the three schools in this area as a ?community?. She was referring to IPS, L?Ecole du Nord and Northfields of course. She finally seized the opportunity to thank all those who contributed to making the event a success: ?I cannot mention all sponsors and Committee members as there were so many and as they all contributed equally. But I would like them to know that without their participation, this event would not have been the success it was!?