Happy Holidays!

At long last...

I didn't get round to launching a proper postcard competition this year... but if you are going somewhere, send us a postcard and we will have a little prize draw! And don't forget to take some geographical photos...

If you are sitting at home wondering what to do with yourself for six weeks:

- check out Mission: Explore

- do some GeoSquishing

- don't forget about Geograph - as well as going out to take some photos of your local area, you could look for pictures of interesting places near you and go and visit them! I've discovered various interesting new places not far from home via Geograph!

Let us know how you get on - leave a comment and send some photos!

And don't forget to keep checking Geogtastic - I will still be updating the blog over the holidays.

Geograph

I've mentioned the fantastic Geograph site before, but if you've not visited for a while, it's well worth going back for another look because, as well as loads more great photographs, there is a new section with some very good games and activities...

I'm bored!

Six whole weeks and no school! If you are short of something to do, try out some of Keri Smith's "100 ideas" to get you thinking...

And if you need some space to think, you can buy some! Check out one of Dan Raven Ellison's many great ideas - Thinking Space

I've mentioned My Walks before, but I still think it's a great idea, and if you haven't investigated it and thought differently about some of your own walks, do it now!

Take your camera with you if you're going somewhere... Set up a Flickr account and share your photos... And send some of them in to Geograph...

And most of all, to quote a certain history teacher - ENJOY!

Photo Competition!

Thank you for all the excellent entries to the photo competition - and apologies for taking so long to announce the winner.... well done Josh, 8NSq, who took this fab photo of Carr Naze Point near Filey, on the Yorkshire Coast.

With half-term fast approaching, it's also time for the new competition... This time, we'd like your CLOUDS photos! For some inspiration, check out the Cloud Appreciation Society website... The closing date is Friday 15th June, the competition is open to all SHS students, staff and parents, and entries can be emailed, or brought in on a CD or memory stick...

Get snapping!!

And while you're out with your camera, why not take some pictures to send to Geograph or try some GeoSquishing?!

Answers to the mysteries...

I've just realised that I've posted at least two mystery questions and not answered them! So...

This place, which I discovered via Geograph in Google Earth is the remains of Farnah Hall near Duffield. It was described in White's 1857 Directory of Derbyshire as "a large elegant mansion situate in a fine park"! Have you ever been there, or do you know any more about it?

This one, which should be of particular interest to Yr 11, shows the construction of a distribution centre just outside Swansea for Amazon. The first phase is expected to be completed in October this year, and will bring 1200 full-time jobs and a further 1500 temporary jobs around Christmas time to the region. The picture will take you to the full story from the BBC.

Geograph in Google Earth

You will all, by now, be regular visitors (and contributors!) to the brilliant Geograph site which I've written about before. I've just spotted on Noel Jenkins' Digital Geography blog though, that there is a new "layer" for Google Earth which allows you to view the Geograph photos in Google Earth...

You can download the new layer from the Geograph website, or visit Noel's blog and follow the link there.

Get exploring and let us know about all the "I never knew that was there!" places you discover... I've just found this one - which isn't a million miles from where I live... Do you know where it is??

Marvellous Maps!

My Yr7 group were very excited to receive their free OS maps today, and keen to take them home and test their parents' map reading skills!

MapZone is part of the Ordnance Survey website and has lots of games and some tips to help you to understand more about maps and how they work...

Geograph is a project which is attempting to collect photographs for every square kilometre of the British Isles. They are already well on their way, although there are still a fair few squares left to "bag". There are some fantastic photos on there and it is worth remembering if you need photos for projects, etc.. Even better though, get registered and put some of your holiday snaps, or some pictures of your local area on the site!