monkey newses

[woolymonkey]

The Monkey Academy is in the news today for pioneering IGSE Science in state schools. Spidermonkey starts IGCSE Science in September after a bit of a panic where they nearly had to cancel and throw everyone at "21st Century Science" instead).

It's good to live in Cambridge, England's geek reservation! "At Parkside we have probably got the most scientifically literate set of parents in the UK," says the Chairman of Governors, who happens to be Reader in Infectious Diseases at the university. If he brings his work into school, this might explain why Spider keeps catching things.

This week, Spider's analysing one of Obama's speeches for an English GCSE assessment. Next week he has a Maths outing to...
... Alton Towers.

Squirrelmonkey heads off to France early on Saturday for a week of markets, cafés, Normandy landings, war cemeteries, Paris, and EuroDisney. While I can just about believe there's Maths at Alton Towers, I'm still trying to think of anything French about EuroDisney. But Spider went on the French trip when he was in Year 7 (it was Parc Astérix in them days), and Squirrel is owed this one. The school made him promise not to take part in dangerous sports or purchase alcohol, tobacco, weapons or explosives. Let's hope that works better than it did with some of the kids in Spider's year...

And I'm off to Peterborough this afternoon to collect my friend, L, who lives in the States. We haven't met for 4 years and we have 6 days to catch up, so I may not be around much on lj this week. But first, I must pick fruit and buy a new loo seat. Do not ask why.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Have a lovely 6 days and see you Sat.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

A pedant writes ... it was renamed from Euro Disney Resort to Disneyland Paris in 1995, and since then Walt Disney Studios Park has opened there as well.

I went around ten years ago, and was amused that rides such as the Star Tours ride are narrated in several languages (including French) and that it has a much more European feel than the US Disney theme parks.

I hope you all have a lovely time in your various locations!

[woolymonkey.livejournal.com]

Squirrel reports that the staff speak better English than French and they had lunch at McDonald's. But he liked the rides.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

Can't have been real French people then (certainly not real Parisiennes!)

I enjoyed my trip there and would be happy to go back. Think I ate at Planet Hollywood.

Did the Eurostar "out on Friday, back on Sunday evening" with two nights in a Disney hotel. Missed the train on the way out but managed to talk ourselves onto a Paris Eurostar and then get a local train across. On the way back, got the direct train, which then got stuck outside Ashford for several hours so ended up with a train full of hungry, tired children arriving at Waterloo at 11pm, too late to catch their connecting trains home ... it was hell :-)

The loo seat ... was Lord Prescott visiting then? (topical humour R us!)

And it will always be EuroDisney to me too :-)