At Puddle Ducks Bristol and Bath we ask our teachers to nominate a child they would like to win SUMMER STAR. This isn't an easy task with over 1000 fantastic children swimming with us each week!
We have received 13 nominations this term for children that have all stood out. Well done to Ronnie, Alice, May, Lex, Hari, Sylvia, Simona, Isabelle, Sam, Ellis, Archie, Erica and Alba.
Here are the children's nominations from their teacher:
Ronnie has been nominated by Amber:
Ronnie moved up to Puddle Ducks elite classes at St Mary Redcliffe school the same week as I started teaching there. He was new to development and on our first lesson together I had to climb into the pool to rescue him, as the term has gone on he has been gaining confidence by the bucket load and is improving week after week. He always has a smile on his face even when he is swimming which always makes me laugh! He is such a pleasure to teach. I’m so proud of what he has done this term and can’t wait to see him progress in the future
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Alice has been nominated by Wendy:
My summer star is Alice B, or rather her Mum. Alice joined us at the beginning of this term at just a couple of months old and really wasn't very happy in the pool. Unusually for such a young baby she wasn't at all happy on her back, which meant even basic activities needed extra patience and adaptations. A lot of Mums could have been disheartened, even though I could see signs of slow but steady progress, but not Alice's Mum. She has been endlessly encouraging of her little girl, never giving up or showing any frustration. Alice is now very nearly 6 months old and ready to move to Splashers. She is much happier to relax on her back with her ears in the water and does beautiful submersion's. Smiles from Alice are just wonderful and I think Mum should be recognised for setting a fantastic example of what quiet patience can achieve. Well done both of you.
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May has been nominated by Laura:
When I first met May she was such a nervous little Kicker, it took a long time to gain May's trust but slowly we are beginning to form a friendship. May now lets me take her and has recently enjoyed the occasional submersion. It's wonderful to watch May grow into a confident swimmer who actually enjoys coming to lessons. I hope May continues to gain confidence and can enjoy her lessons from start to finish.
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Simona has been nominated by Rebecca:
She had never been in a pool before when she joined our class earlier this year. In the first lesson she screamed and clung to dad for the whole of the class. However both Simona and dad were patient and persevered and now she loves the water, jumps and kicks around the pool on two short woggles independently. Well done to her dad for coming back after that first lesson, his great attitude has paid off.
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Isabelle has be nominated by Jenna:
I would like to nominate Isabelle for my summer star. Isabelle is one of my Dippers, her progress throughout the programme has been amazing and I have seen her blossom into a confident swimmer. From not wanting to put her face in the water, she is now happily swimming independently and blowing her bubbles to the floor.
Well done Isabelle you should be very proud of all your hard work.
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Sam has been nominated by Annette and Katie:
I asked Katie who has been teaching with me this term at all my sessions who she thought deserved the nomination for star of the term. Without prompting, she gave the same name I had in my head. While all swimmers have tried hard and made some progress which is fantastic, there is one stand out swimmer for us.
Sam, who swims with us at SMR has been on a momentous journey. When he started, he was nervous, so much so that it took a lot of persuasion to get him in the pool in the first place, let alone take his feet off the floor or put his face in the water. Each week, he listens intently and takes on board the activities with determination and great effort. Over the last couple of weeks his effort has started to pay dividends in his ever-increasing confidence. He now jumps into deep water and resurfaces by himself (still not his favourite thing to do, but so proud that he still does it with a can-do attitude despite his reticence) and has started to do independent swims with his face in the water. I’m sure it’s not a too distant reality to see his first distance swim award coming. All this in one term.
Sam, be very proud of all you have done so far. Annette and Katie are so proud. It’s the kind of thing that makes a swimming teacher feel all warm and fuzzy inside after a long day in the wet.
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Ellis has been nominated by Steph:
My Summer Star is Ellis Harding. When I first went to Winterborne Ellis would cling to Mum or Dad and was very reluctant to get into the pool. He would get upset and not want to join in. Ellis's parents continued to come and stayed calm in the water along with encouraging him to join in. The past few weeks Ellis has been excited about getting into the pool and giggling during some of the fantastic activities that our Kickers do.
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Archie has been nominated by Jan:
I nominate Archie who is one of my Kickers at Redhill.
After being very nervous when he started with us and spending lessons playing with toys while sitting with his mum and dad next to the pool or on the steps, he has come on in leaps and bounds and now loves splashing and joining in, especially if he can see a plastic duck to reach for! He has been really brave and gradually increased in confidence week by week with lots of support from his parents and it's lovely to see him having fun now!
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Erica has been nominated by Jen:
My summer star has got to be Erica T from one of my Little Dippers classes. Erica was very nervous and quite often reluctant to even get in the pool, she would refuse woggles and not want to join in with many activities, this went on for a couple of terms. After a few terms of this the change has been incredible! She now blows bubbles, swims on woggles, does amazing jumps into the pool and seems to be enjoying being in the pool! It’s taken lots of encouragement and patience but it has totally paid off, her mum is so so proud of her and I am too! Well done Erica! X
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Alba has been nominated by Diana:
Alba T joined my lessons as a nervous little girl who was quite frightened of the swimming pool. Over this term Alba has listened and tried her hardest in all of our activities and even practices everything we do in class or the tips I give her all week long ready for her next class.. Mum has said sometimes she cannot get her out of the bath because she is busy practicing for her next lesson. Alba over the last 8 weeks has increased her confidence levels where she is jumping in from standing and blowing lovely head down bubbles. Her swim alignment in the pool is lovely to see. Last week Alba even did a surface dive to the bottom of the pool which was very impressive indeed. Having such a dedicated determined little girl in the class is a credit to her mum and a pleasure to teach. Well done Alba on an amazing term of swimming lessons.'
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Lex has been nominated by Carly:
It’s been hard to choose one but I want to nominate Lex J.
Lex is has gained so much confidence over the last few weeks.
When I took over the class he was very nervous and always clingy to his mummy. He has never wanted to go under the water or help with demos.
But over the last 4 weeks I have seen a massive change. He seems so much happier in the water, will help me in demos and today did some amazing back swimming. He still doesn't want to go under the water but is now happy to be pushed and let go in 5 puddle ducks (above the water) whereas before he would cling onto my arm.
He has had a big change too as his mum has had a baby so Dad has been bringing him for a few weeks.
It’s amazing to see his confidence grow and hopefully for it to continue.
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Hari has been nominated by Amanda:
I would like to nominate Hari.
Hari has swum with me for a year now, and I have watched him mature into a good little swimmer, but it isn't his swimming that I am nominating him for but for his caring and thoughtfulness. The other night one swimmer didn't want to get in the water both myself and Kerry the poolside tried to get her in. Eventually she did. She was next to Hari in the water but was pretty sure she didn't want to join in, Hari turned to her and said you can do this, you will be fine when you get going! He carried on encouraging her and making sure she was ok. So very thoughtful!
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Sylvia has been nominated by Tasha:
Sylvia started swimming with us a few weeks ago, she started out very nervous of the water, she wouldn't blow bubbles - when she did it was for a split second! Sylvia wouldn't let either of us let go of her when doing our warm up swims on woggles or little swims. Jumping was a no go. Fast forward a few weeks and Sylvia has come so far! She no longer struggles with blowing bubbles and is putting her whole face in the water, she doesn't want us to hold onto her when we are doing our swims because she wants to do it by herself - and last week she was SO close to getting her 5m badge!! I think this gave her the little confidence boost she needed as she was eager to do some jumping, she now will do a seated jump and come into the water completely unaided! It's lovely watching her confidence grow every week! Well done Sylvia!!
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Well done!