Olympic Movie

This was made by 4 of our Year 8 Students in Room 20 including me. We got given the task to make a short Movie about the "Olympic Games". I was excited to work with these 3 students: Lesley, Awhina and Aliza. Enjoy:-)

Orientation Day

Here’s me thinking it was going to be a normal Thursday. Little did I know, the teacher’s had already made plans for the Year 8’s pretty much the whole day. Stroking my hair away from my face, I blinked repeatedly as if I was lost. Letting out a big sigh, I followed on after the others.

The Dean of Tamaki College Mrs George, pointed us in directions. We had three rotations of classes: Science, English and Music. First pick wasn’t an option, nor was having a prefect with you or not. I wiped the small drops off my tan forehead, slipped off my jacket and let out a huge blow.

Science was by far the best. My group and I were having discussions on how the finishing product was going to look like. As I gave myself a breezy wave, my cheeks went bright red. The hokey pokey boiled up very fast, though we were frightened by the flame. Soon, our hokey pokey was all ready to eat and enjoy. I learnt a lot from Science, I look forward to doing it next year as a Year 9.

I know I’ll be back Next Year to do more of this fun stuff as a Year 9. I look forward to meeting new students from other Intermediate’s and making friends with those. I’d also like to thank Mrs George, Mr Dunn and all the Prefects that helped. It was an awesome experience.

The Farmhouse

As Leslie walked cautiously through the grassy path, a ray of sun pierced through the clouds. Trying to avoid the murky puddles, she smiled with relief as she could no longer feel droplets falling on her. Sweat dripped down Leslie’s tan face, as she walked continuously for hours.

She’d always fought and argued with her stepmother, but this time it was personal. So she fled. Just as Leslie was looking for shelter, the sky turned dim and gloomy. Walking towards a figure in the distance was salvation. As she reached the farm barn, the door creaked open slowly as she made her way in.

Opposite her was a, stack of hay. Well its all there was, so she slept on the stack of hay overnight. Waking up early in the morning, Leslie continued her journey for salvation.  On her journey she had to face daring, treacherous pathways. She also encountered with a rattle snake.

Leslie had always feared snakes and so the day had to face her fears...or run. She ran for her life and out of nowhere, a helicopter came to her rescue. “HELP! HELP!” Leslie yelled jumping up and down. With her cold hand, she felt her heartbeat and safely climbed the ladder up to the door.

To her amazement, her real mother appeared to be seated in the helicopter. “MUM”, cried Leslie.
They lived happily ever after.

Thanks to Mino for accompanying me with this Writing.

The Bush

“It’s an awesome view isn’t it George?” Nina asked aloud.
“I agree” George replied.
Green trees blew from side to side, sending shivers down my spine. The citrul air had a funky smell to it. Who knew what it could be? As we carried on following a muddy path, the sky became dull and blurry. I was starting to have second thoughts about taking a shortcut.

I thought a dull sky could possibly lead to rain. “Anything to eat?” George groaned. I hushed him with an angry tone in my voice. This path is getting us nowhere, I mumbled to myself. Jumping and climbing over brick walls, I gasped for breath and finally admitted I was scared. Were we ever gonna make it home before dark? I thought to myself.

There was a change in my view as I looked way ahead. George and I decided to pace ourselves a little faster, though we didn’t know where we were going exactly. “Could that be.....?” George stuttered. The both of us ran with a feeling of relief. With luck on our side, we were finally on our way home... Thankfully!

As I wiped the sweat off my forehead, I thought back to what I thought, was an endless nightmare. While we walked back home nice and easy, we grinned at each other. George looked like a walking zombie and as for me.. I was thinking of what to say when Mum asks us “Where were you?”
“Promise me, we are never to take shortcuts again” George protested with his hand out.

Show Not Tell

This Morning, Room 20 yet again, did another Show Not Tell. As students, we had to describe what we could see in this picture about the setting and the characters. BUT.. We had to show not tell. That only means we couldn't give the idea away, we had to give hints. Now, you tell Me... Do you get the idea from my Paragraph? 

“SEARCH FOR HIM THAT WAY!” I heard a soldier command. With sweat sliding down the side of my face, I continuously ran puffing and panting. The ground was shrouded in wet, sticky mud. As I stealthily peeked through the damp tree branches, water droplets began to fall and slide down my hair. The clouds darkened.

Writing Practice

“Ally” I heard Mum yelling to me down the hall. “You up yet?” I predicted the weather was going to be fine. It always was. I opened the curtains to the sun gazing through my windows. I threw on a pair of shorts, my green singlet and and completed my look with a pair of jandals. BEEP! BEEP! I glanced at the clock and saw it was going on eleven o'clock. I sighed, "The beach couldn't be that busy!"

The drive usually seemed to take forever but this time I was too busy thinking about what I could do. “Finally, what we came here for" I heard my brother Sione say. Looking through the glassy window, clear blue water had caught my eyes. The light coloured sand had blown me away. It felt as if I was in heaven. "Relax? Play? Eat? Sleep?" I said aloud. "First thing you can do is set up Darling" My mother grinned. I turned off for a moment there.

As I was laying down the mat, I heard a cry. "AAARGH! Why me?" I looked up and noticed a crowd of people gathering near the groyne. I made my way slowly and cautiously to have a peek. My eyes widened with a sigh. The sight I saw disgusted me. A teary eyed man named Andy, laid there with 4 toes instead of 5. People around him asked what caused this injury. He replied breathing loudly "I was searching for some shells and out of nowhere, a crab bit my toe off". At first, I found it hard to believe.

I pulled out my phone and dialled 911. A man answered and I explained to him the reason I called on such a beautiful day. He said "I'll be there right away!" I stuck with the man while families started to leave, one by one. Andy  was struggling to hack the pain, but I stayed with him though. With all the strength he had left, the injured man squeezed me and said "Thank You Ally". He was taken to a safe place.

Ok, I admit today was pretty stressing. But.... A man thanked me?? For all the effort and care I put into making sure he was safe and well looked after. I was proud myself as well! I didn't care that I never got to have fun, it mattered to me a lot that I got to save a life.

Joshua Iosefo - My Inspiration

Joshua Iosefo, his Mother and his Father were visiting the Year 7 and 8 students of Pt England School. He was here to recite the Spoken Word he had written and presented through Campbell Live and school. We had the opportunity to listen and observe what he had to say.

After Joshua had inspired us with his word, he was keen to answer some questions we had prepared for him. He had been entertaining us the whole way through, which made me laugh quite a bit. It was an awesome experience to have with him and his parents. I enjoyed it.

He shared with all of us how he wrote his poem and how he got all his ideas. Does the play Sinarella sound familiar? Apparently, that play had inspired him in different ways. However... What he said were also based on true stories, what he had seen and how he saw the world. “I could listen to him all day” I thought to myself.

I thought listening to Joshua speak was worth all the time we had. I’d seen confident people speaking in front of a crowd before, but to take a risk and fight for brown people... Now that’s what you call a hero. He has a gift. A great one as well.

Olympic Day

A slight change had been made before the day had started. Instead of me being the leader of Spain, I was now the captain of Italy. A procession was performed by children from each country as a tradition of the Olympic games. All the teams were chanting and cheering “ITALY! SCOTLAND! SPAIN! MEXICO!” just to keep the faith of their team strong. As team leader, I had no choice but to go with the flow.

A feeling of excitement shot through me. My only down point was I hadn't been grouped with any of my friends from class or from around the school. All I got left with was a bunch of boys who payed no attention, like literally. Kayde and I had our team under control and hopefully... Just hopefully, we had a chance of winning.


3-legged Soccer? I murmured to myself. With or without a ball, I wasn’t very good at keeping my balance. It seemed to be my weakness. Tyla and I were partners for this event and were suddenly enemies with the players of Scotland. The both of us were struggling to maneuver up and down the field. We were planning on to at least touch the ball.

“GET THE BALL! PASS IT!” Other teams were soon going to lose their voices if they carried on with what they were doing. The ball was being passed up and down the court smoothly. It was halftime, which meant it was time to switch over. Portugal had a team talk with their captain and surprisingly gave them a boost to keep going. The game came to an end. With shocking results, Portugal had taken the victory for that event.

The day had ended and by that time, I had given up on my team long before. I learn the same experiences every time our school has an event together. Winning matters to some but having fun means alot to more people. I realised after a few events that winning didn’t matter, but having fun did. Go team Italy!

Farewell Mrs Verry

Farewell to our dear Mrs Verry from Team 4 Pes on Vimeo.
To you Mrs Verry. She was one of the best teachers, child support and volunteer at our School, Pt England. There had been a sad message passed onto the students of Pt England School on Friday morning in Assembly..... Unfortunately, she was leaving us. Yes, I guess you could say she was retiring. A number of girls were selected from around the school to perform a Samoan dance for our dearly beloved Mrs Verry. It was taught by one of the teachers here at Pt England, Mrs Tuala. It was part of the Samoan tradition to not only say goodbye in words, but in actions as well. To many of us, she was like family.

Take Care Mrs Verry. We love you and we will all miss you very much :)

Social for 2012

Tonight was the night. Black, white and gold balloons stood out from the side walls and multi-coloured lights were shimmering around the floor. Music was pumping, giving a big welcome to our Year 7 and 8 students who came to the Social. As prefects, Joe, Samson, Selena, Mino, Reka and I also had duties to focus on during the night. I think we let the nerves get to us....

As more people came rushing through the entrance, I waved to a few of my friends grooving to the music. Everyone who joined us were greeted by Mrs Tele’a and were shown the boundaries. Music played to get students warmed up for the Dance competition, that was great news for all of us. The night had just begun.

Moments later, the hall was filled with kids yelling and cheering for the Dougie contestants. I wasn’t one of them but I had the opportunity of being a judge. It came to mind that we had a clear winner... Nezinli. He seemed to be the last man standing on the dance floor who was competing against Mary, who couldn’t quite reach his standards. We were proud to award one of the prizes to Nezinli for winning the Dougie Competition of 2012.

It didn’t take me a while to notice that everyone had saved their best dance move for the very last song. Not too long after that, Mr Burt (Our principal) said a prayer for us and thanked everyone who helped organise the evening. I have to admit, for a Social that we planned for the very first time in our lives, went pretty good. Cross my fingers, there will be a next Social.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Tele'a, Mrs Nua, Mr Burt, Mr Jacobsen and Mrs Flavelle, because without your help, none of this would of happened.

An Unexpected Tragedy

An unexpected tragedy has struck the citizens of America with a heartbreaking story. Neil Armstrong, the man they called ‘Hero’, has died from complications after heart surgery. He was the age of 82, and accomplished great things in life.

Commander of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. Avoiding the limelight, a successful take off was attempted. His greatest achievement had not only brought success to him, but also to his country. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” he quoted.

Cross Country

I was keen, but I wasn’t going to get ahead of myself just yet. Cross country was only five minutes away and my nerves were getting to me. The tracks I have competed in when I was much younger, seemed easier by far. This year they took it up a notch, we were now going to race 3k’s. I whispered to myself “This is a new year, you can do it.”

As much I wanted to give up on the race, I knew as a year 8, I needed to accomplish my goal for this year of completion. Just when I thought I was running the track quite smoothly, a feeling of exhaustion struck me unexpectedly. I felt sluggish, and soon I was starting to think.... “Is this race ever going to finish?”

Turns out, I wasn’t that far from the finish line after all. It didn’t take me long to notice that my shoes were completely saturated and my legs had been covered in mud. As I saw a few heads, a cheesy grin had appeared on my face, showing a feeling of relief. I was a few steps away of accomplishing what I had feared since day 1 of this year, finishing cross country. I hadn’t felt so good for a while.

Win or Lose? Neither of those mattered to me. I give myself credit for participating in the race and finishing it off properly. I've learnt how to persevere and not doubt myself.

Smoking Kills

Smoking kills, this is one of many ways of dying. Why smoke when you can turn to family for help? Instead of trusting a cigarette to sort out your problems, ask yourself “Is this the right thing to do?”

The illnesses associated with smoking are cancer, heart problems, which can also lead to amputations and other diseases that can harm the body. These are the many effects of smoking which are caused by the 4000 chemicals in the cigarette, including nicotine and tobacco.  The chemicals travel first into the immune system then into your blood.

Smoking not only affects the inside of your body, it also affects your appearance on the outside as well. Your face looks old, wrinkles start to appear faster, you teeth start to rot and your brain doesn’t function properly. The movie room 20 watched gave a good example. The lady looked as if she was in her late 70’s, but it shocked me she was only in her early 40’s.

You can save up to hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars a year, by not purchasing cigarette packets. Saving money to provide for your family and yourself, could change your life and people around you. Also, you could set an example for children on how to save their own money and their earnings.

Why do people start smoking? They could be doing it to impress people, trying to be cool or even trying to get rid of the stress you have. These are just a couple of points why people start to smoke. Think this before you smoke, what are the benefits of smoking?

When people decide to smoke, it increases your chances of having cancer. It also causes addiction, one smoke after another. Your body starts playing up and sometimes when you look around for some help, no one’s there. I’ve learnt that, maybe when your upset and wanting help real bad, talk to some and be smokefree.

Thanks to Seini-Mino for accompanying me.

Apprentice Animators

The Extension group had an opportunity to study and learn about art by the Apprentice Animators. Ali, Maka and Nils introduced themselves and wasted no time. They convinced each and everyone of us, that animating really was the best.

A slideshow was made and produced by Ali and his crew. It was filled with pictures that happened to be the very first moving ones created by people in the nineteen hundreds. We were all fascinated by what people had created back in the day. When we got that completely sorted, the group was introduced to Zoetropes.

Practicing how to split lines seemed to be the most important step if you wanted your ace your Zoetrope. I struggled while we were splitting lines, but as we got more and more excises to do, the much easier I had thought it got. After we got that under way, we were taking it a step further. Ali & his crew showed us a demonstration of the Zoetrope, it was awesome! It was creative and successfully made by a unique mind. To end the lesson, we were going to make our very first project with Ali, Maka and Nils.

Disappointment for Valerie Adams

With visible disappointment, Valerie Adams was clearly upset about winning a silver medal over gold in the 2012 Olympic games. Even though she did not get to celebrate the victory of winning, she showed great gratitude to her coach, Jean-Pierre Eggar. As she took her last attempt valiantly, her final score was 20.7 metres which wasn’t quite enough to beat 21.36, which was held by Nadzeya Otsapchuk. It was an emotional evening, she worked tirelessly and she was proud of the achievements and progress she had made.

Brown Brother - Joshua Iosefa

A speech had to be delivered and spoken in front of the students at Mt Roskill Grammar by the prefects. Joshua Iosefo thought it would be his opportunity to write and recite a poem instead of doing a speech. The title of the poem was called ‘Brown Brother’, which is about where he comes from, what his future holds and the life that has gone past.


A bunch of students from my class watched the clip of Joshua reciting his poem live. It was a very interesting but touching poem he had created. The message he spoke in his words were clear enough for me to have ideas of what he tried to say. He taught us that we shall not be afraid to change and that we shall not listen to stereotypes. It may have sounded like he was rapping, but during that time, he had meaning to what he was saying.

From that poem, I learnt that I don’t have to be what people expect to see of me. I was proud that someone had written and shared a poem about how we should be true to who we are. So in conclusion, I think this person did a great job of writing a poem about what he thinks needs to be heard.

Here's a link to his poem being recited live.

Precious McKenzie (Sylvia, Mino, Jarna)

Precious McKenzie the weightlifter, was preparing himself mentally for the final lift. The weight of the bar showed no mercy and brought tension to his body.  As muscles grew taut his veins were bulging, with the struggle to continue. Reaching towards the end he was determined to succeed.

Art Alive

Salvador Dali

A few weeks back, Room 20 were assigned to do an independent presentation on  a famous artist. There was no reason for choosing this artist in particular, I thought it was a good idea because I had already learnt about him personally. I learnt so much more about his life and how he got to where he is now. He was weird, crazy and known for good things... Enjoy:)

Reproducing an artwork

This term, the extension group had the opportunity to reproduce one of Charles F Goldie’s paintings. As you can see, I decided to have a try at drawing a 94 year old one, ‘The High born Lady.’ During the weeks, I found out more about the true meaning of the Maori culture, what the moko’s & tattoo’s meanings are and the way Maori’s like to show their families and their life. 

The current painting ‘The High born Lady’ was originally painted in the year 1918 and up to today, it’s still well known. To make this artwork, Charles used oil paint as a finishing product which most artists use but this man, used it in different ways.  

When I observe and watch his paintings carefully, it almost feels like he’s trying to convey a message. Also, when I look at this picture, it reminds me a lot about my Grandmother, because she stays strong and is determined to do anything until it's perfect. From the beginning to the end, I have had fun learning new things about the Maori culture and Charles F Goldie. 


I struggled quite a bit and lost track of time while I was finishing my artwork. I needed to manage my time more carefully, make the time for my classroom work and extension work. Along the way, I have learnt more about the Maori culture, what the moko's and tattoo's represent and how they feel and think about their work. From what I see, Maori's are strong, tense and are proud about their culture. I thought it was a great experience learning about an artist with a different culture and I had fun.

I wish when people look at these Goldie pictures and look real hard that they will find the true meaning and what Maori people really try and do. As I've been told over the past few years trying my hard to accomplish things, "A little hard work, builds character".

No ordinary Girl

“OH MY GOSH!” Mino reacted this way when our plans for the day were to paint and be creative. As I interrupted during the talk about what the instructions were, Mino glared at me and hushed me until I was completely silent. I knew Mino, when it came to being creative, being a movie maker, animating and especially being a member of a group discussion, she was focused and ready.

Back when my friends and I were younger than today, Mino had to be the one who stood out the most. She had long smooth bushy hair, cute round eyes and was very quiet. She was more of a mover than a talker but nowadays, it’s the other way around. She’d always been fond of drawing, being creative and being a movie maker the most at school which showed she was a talented young girl. We’d always loved to talk, run around and be different to other children and as we grew up, we still stayed the same.

Experiencing a new Sport

As the students of room 20 paced themselves to the courts for our Kiwi Kick session, a gust of wind blew strongly towards our way. My teeth were chattering, I couldn’t keep still and goosebumps were slowly appearing around my body. We finally reach our destination and I then murmur to myself “This is going to be a disaster”.

To start our session, the tutors asked us kindly to be seated facing and listening their way. Samwich, Anita and Mikey all introduced themselves and gave a little speech about ARL to introduce us to the sport. While our tutors were explaining the rules to the students in our class, mixed thoughts were going through my head.

“Tag” was the only word I could hear around me. Continuous tag was our warm up before any of us were allowed to learn anything and it seemed to be the most important thing. The aim of the game was not to get tagged and have fun I guess. All I could see after a few games were people panting, weezing and breathing very loud. Samwich blew the whistle, which only meant one thing, ‘GAME TIME!’

I wouldn’t know, but part of being in a sports team, you have to know what the skills are to accomplish anything. Skill 1: ‘Drop Punt’, if you are getting ready to kick a ball, alway remember, ‘Laces away from Faces’. Another thing, Skill 2: ‘Hand Pass’. In this sport, many people have difficulties doing this skill, so it’s easier if you move with the ball and hit it with your fist. We got told that we have a chance to learn skills every week, so it wasn’t a problem at all.

To finish off our day, Samwich said we had more final thing to do to end our session. We were able to practice and do our best to ace the kicks one last time. In our partners we had to aim for our targets, which were Samwich and Mike. “You can do this! You can do this!” was all I could say in my head during the time. I kicked the ball softly and with great success, I jumped up and down with laughter.


AFL was better than I imagined. Our tutors are the best, we learnt really cool skills and I had a great time! I think next week when we go again, I will know what I'm doing which means I can have much more FUN!

Comparing and Contrasting

Ms Squires has recently given Room 20 a task to compare and contrast 2 well known artists, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was famous for the art style ‘impressionistim’’ but moved on and became fond of ‘cubism’ where as Henri Matisse was the pioneer of Fauvism. It was our job to find the differences and compare the similarities.

Born on December 31st 1869, Henri Matisse was well known and famous in France for creating, sketching and painting in the style of ‘Fauvism’. Initially he experimented with the impressionistic style of painting but then moved on Cubism, a style he became most famous for. Pablo and Henri met in Paris (Spain) while Henri was visiting there for his Study Law, he and Pablo then became lifelong friends.

Although Matisse and Picasso share the same subject with these paintings, ‘Woman with a hat’ and ‘Weeping Woman’, they both have a unique way of showing it. The both of them used oil paint but Matisse painted a work of art with mixed emotions while Picasso on the other hand showed an expression of sadness and intense feelings.

The hue and the value of their paintings are similar to each other but they both have their own differences. The most obvious similarities in these paintings are the vibrant but vivid colours they used to express what they were thinking at the time. Pablo had his own way of using colours and there wasn’t much shading, instead he was quite flat. Henri used a multitude of colours and made his artwork and showed the unrealistic colours.

The line and the shape of these paintings show their differences clearly. Henri does have some clear outlines but many lines are blurred. There are smudged shapes, with shapes defined though the use of a variety of colours. Clearly delineated lines is seen most in his artwork, with some dark outlines and jagged lines. I can clearly see that the perspectives in these paintings have their own angles.

There are many differences between ‘Women with a Hat’ and ‘Weeping Women’ but there were some similarities. From the way I see it, it looked like Henri and Pablo were trying to convey a message. But who knows?

Show Not Tell - Rainy Day

SPLOSH SPLOSH SPLOSH! was all I could hear walking down the path. Goosebumps appeared on my arms and I felt drenched. Droplets were dripping on my head and sprinkles of spray were blowing in my face.

What I have to Say...

A few weeks ago, the Year 7 & 8 Extension class were given a rubric and assigned to gather information about one person in particular, draw your best graphics and make an independent movie about that same person. We were lucky enough to choose 1 person from the Pacific Starmap 'Lighting the way for Pacific Artists', a star sports player or a celebrity who inspires you the most. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to do Sia Figiel. She is a famous pacific women who writes poetries and is a publisher of novels as well. It wasn't the best movie I've made but it was good to watch.

I'm glad to say that I finished my project on Sia Figiel but I didn't do GREAT and I didn't do bad. During the time we had to complete these projects, I needed to tweet some things up but I did some things that were al right I guess. It was a good thing that I made progress in every session of Extension but I still think I could of managed my time more along with some focus. If we get given another task to complete and I still have a chance to be a member of this class, I will definitely do my best to complete it and put all my effort in it.

I have to admit in the beginning, I thought this was for nothing but after a few days I got the hang of it. Sia Figiel was fun to learn about and she was a women that I had been inspired by. She showed a heap of confidence and was keen to follow her dreams even though she had no support other than her kids and close friends. I learned even though your still learning about your dream and how much work you need to put in it, don't give up because you never know what's going to happen!

The Abundance

The Abundance illustrated by Daniella Hulmes was a brilliant piece of painting.  She was a person that enjoyed anything that associated with art. Daniella had decided to be an artist but her parents thought it wasn’t a good job choice because the ammount of money she would make. She had become a nurse for a few years, then got married and since then, she had become a fanatic of art and talked about it non-stop. He husband couldn’t take it anymore so he bought her an easel, paint supplies. It get’s even better when he enrolls her into an art class.

Daniella’s purpose of painting was to show joy and happiness. She loved working with bright, vibrant colours so she could bring happiness to homes. Oil paints was all she used because she loved the texture, smell, the feeling and the depth.

She was inspired by her husband’s culture (Samoa) because she loved the Island look and the style. When you have one look at the artworks drawn by her, you can really see the Pacific iconography.

Daniella Hulmes 'Abundance'

The lines by Daniella Hulme  of the  artwork ‘Abundance’ are strong, bold and drawn clearly. This artwork has a blend of cultures which incorporate the island look, the colours are vibrant and show joy and happiness. The effect of the artwork has an  isometric perspective.


Written by Mubba & Via

A hot day, freezing water and a bit of FUN!

"You jump in first" said Mino softly. "No, you go first" I said with a finger pointing to the water. "We'll jump in altogether on my call" said Lena standing on the corner of the pool. "3....2....1....JUMP!" Before you knew it, a big SPLASH had frightened those that had already managed to be in the pool. While Mino and Lena were planning on staying warm, it was that time again to be aware of the sun.. Meaning, I didn't want to be another Mr Crab's and be burnt!

As I slowly came up and out of the pool, I rubbed the blur out of my eyes and walked at a fast pace to get to the Hydroslide. A chilly gush of wind blew past my face calmly and managed to make my hair look like a total mess. I walked through the doors and up the stairs I went. "I'm going to beat you" said a person from this direction, "Not if I'm there first" yelled the other dashing up the stairs. It felt as if I was hallucinating at that moment but I had reached the slide just in time...

"WOOHOO!" was all I could hear when people were sliding down. I was getting impatient and was shivering. "Yes, my turn" I mumbled to myself. I sat at the top, waited for the signal and closed my eyes. "GO!" Toreka shouted at me and down I went. Sliding down, I took a peek back and no longer had a bright view, the dark, dim tunnel had taken over the light. The water was speeding past me with great strength. Light started to show, I prepared myself for what I was going to come against and SPLASH! Water had been splattered all over my face! I stood up, wiped my face and made way for the next person to come out. That was my first and best Hydroslide ride ever.

Exiting the Hydroslide, I wrapped myself with a towel, grabbed my bags and walked to have a nice warm shower. I dropped my bags, stepped into the nearest shower and pushed the button. All I could feel were little drops of water dripping down my body, which game me a big energy boost. I felt pleased and a little high after my shower, it felt so good...

Sadly to say, camp had come to an end. I thought this would be the best camp so far. Reasons for that was because I got to spend a great amount of time with my close friends, see new faces and it was my last year. It would of been worth all the time in the world!

Leave a Positive footprint..

This was a task we were given by Ms Squires a few weeks ago. It took me longer that I thought it would but in the end, I finished! This movie is about doing the right thing and leaving a smart footprint where ever you go. The movie I prepared for you to watch is pretty short and it only gives one piece of advice and a way to leave a positive footprint. In the end, this is what I came up with.. (:

Camp Day 2

Most of us campers were exhausted, freezing and worrying about looks in the morning. As for me, I was too busy shivering to say or do anything. I peeked out of my tent and walked out looking confused. As I strolled onto the bottom field, I heard music which gave me memories when I was young, ‘JUMP JAM!’ Teachers were persuading us to join in because it was fun but it felt like punishment from where I was standing. Besides the yawning, exhaustion and the shivering, it felt like the day was going good.

I have to admit, day 2 went splendidly well than I thought it would go. I loved all of the activities but I perfer to tell you my favourite highlight for the day. With a nice hot touch to the day, I was enjoying it so far.

Food Prep had to be my highlight for the day and not just because I heard the word ‘FOOD’ but because it was fun. I learnt something even outside of camp. Anyway, Joe, Lesley, Havea, Unaloto and I were all 1 cooking group. Collecting ingredients, mixing, squashing and working together was a good experience for me, we learnt how to make scones. After a while of running, cooking and laughing, in the end, our scones came out great and tasted delicious. It was the end of that activity and I wouldn’t mind doing it again any time soon.

The day ended as planned and I had a great sleep too. All I could think about was the last day at SWIM-A-RAMA! To be continued..

Show Not Tell ..

Show Not Tell

I hit the ball back across the table and BANG, Mino hit back almost unintentionally. “Gosh, Mino you're such a good player!” I shouted still looking at the tiny ball as if it were prey. Carefully aiming to the other side of the table, I swung my arm, but with no luck, I failed.

Written by Mubasshira & Sylvia

Camp Day 1

It was Monday morning, my eyes were blurry and I felt so sluggish. I searched for where my group had set up for camp, I dragged my bag, pillow and blanket slowly to the corner of the hall. We got called to line up in the front, I moaned with a frown on my face and sat down quietly.

I’m talking about the Year 7 and 8 camp by the way. Turns out, it was perfect for camping. The sun was shining, kids were having fun and I was trying not to get burnt. I’d rather tell you than show you the two main things I enjoyed, the day was just about to begin..

Joe and I settled the group down in the hall for some ‘OLD SKOOL’ games with Mr Harris. There were a variety of games. You had the type of games that were boring and you had the types that you just couldn’t get enough of. The one game that stood out for me would have to be Captain’s deck, it was addicting. I surprised myself with the rolling, standing, sitting, lying down and running, it was exhausting but it was something to enjoy. Not so long after, we led our group out of the hall and onto our next activity, which was pretty cool.

When it came to inventing, structuring and building, I wasn’t the best at it. Listening to Mr Barks give the instructions for the Amazing Race, made me feel excited but confused at the same time. The slingshots were pretty difficult to build from my point of view, I was struggling to tie the elastic together with the stick. It took my group and I a more than 10 minutes to complete our slingshot. I wouldn’t say we failed, it was more like an in completed task. In the end, we didn’t get too many shots and we didn’t get much bonus either. Besides the running, panting and weezing, this was a great start to the day. I may have been tired and had no energy but it was a GREAT day.

With a great start to the day, I couldn’t help but think all night about the next. I can’t wait until Day 2.

Ben Carson

Benjamin Carson was born in 1951 and lived in Detroit Michigan with his family for a short time. His mother Sonya, dropped out of third grade and decided to get married at the age of 13. Unfortunately, a few years later, when Benjamin was 8 years of age, the parents got divorced. Sonya had a very hard life after they had got divorced, she had to work 2 or 3 jobs a day so she could help provide for her children.

As for school, because of their difficult childhood, Benjamin and Curtis were pretty low with their grades. In 5th grade, Ben was actually the lowest student in his class. All his classmates use to call him dummy, which caused him to develop an uncontrollable temper. His mother then decided that she would try her best to educate her children. She limited their television watching to only 2 - 3 programs a week. She ordered them to get 2 books out of the library and give her a written report at the end of the week. Initially Ben got annoyed at doing this, he was jealous that he couldn’t be like the other kids and play outside.

After weeks, reading books and learning new things everyday, Benjamin was a changed person. An ordinary day at school, had changed Benjamin’s life. His teacher brought a rock sample for the class. He asked the kids if they knew the name of the rock, knowing Ben, he was the shy one and wouldn’t put up his hand. He looked around and saw that nobody had their hand up. He volunteered, the class grew quite as their teacher said “Ben?”. They turned and stared at him and started laughing. They were intending he would get the answer wrong. Ben had amazed his class with the new knowledge he showed. A year or so later Benjamin Carson had become the top of the class and made his mother proud. The one thing he needs to work on was his temper, he needed to take control and put it away.

A DAY TO REMEMBER!

It might not have been the best day for a Picnic, but it’s better to be outdoors on the last day of the week than indoors learning. Mr Burt clearly knew what would make our students Pt England school happy, especially starting the year off with some fun. Going to our school beach is common to us students. Unlike some of the new children and those younger than me, I’ve been enjoying days like this for the past 8 years.

Mr Burt set off with a pack of year 8’s following him, through the gates and into Pt England reserve we went. It didn’t take so long for us to arrive. Most of us year 8’s were panting, weezing, moaning and relieved we had finally reached the reserve. After listening to a moment of Mr Burt’s words of wisdom, prayer ad rules, we then rushed off to find the best spot to hang around for the day. I was planning to at least close my eyes.

“VIA! can you come and play for my team, we need one more player?” Thora (my friend) shouted across the field. I moaned lifting my head up with a frown on my face. “It’s just volleyball, what’s the worst that could happen?” Turns out, I wasn’t so bad at volley after all, I have some skills in me. All I had to do was serve the ball. I only had to work on my aiming as I hit a few heads which didn’t look nice from where I was standing.

After a moment of running around, it was time to eat. That sure did make me exhausted. I felt de-hydrated. As usual, when we eat, we all seemed to have something funny to share. This time, I wasn’t the one being a clown , it was my other friend Seini-Mino doing faces and saying things that nearly made me choke. I ended up eating a sandwich and a mandarin. Not long after that, it was time to finish the day off and leave our beautiful beach once again.

Before any students or teachers left, Mr Burt closed our wonderful day with a prayer. Leaving the reserve, I was thinking about how fun my day was. It didn’t go how it was planned in mind but I’m sure most of us had fun anyway. This may not have been the best picnic ever, but it certainly was one to remember.

My Symbols

For the past 2 weeks , Mrs Tele'a gave us a task in Extension to complete & make her learn more about us more , not just in words , but with graphics as well. It took me a long while to think , but this is what I thought would really show more about me ..

1. The left corner on the top symbolises me & how I love to read at times. I drew this graphic because , it's my favorite subject at school & something a little more interesting to do outdoors. My favorite types of books a the ones that keep me in suspense.

2. The right corner on the top symbolises the passion I have for Netball. This sport is well known in my family & is pretty much my goal in the future: To be a STAR!

3. The left corner at the bottom symbolises how much I love to let my voice out & sing. It may be not the best thing to like , but it is what I love to do in my spare time. A girl like me are into things like this.

4. The right corner at the bottom symbolises how much my mouth likes to munch on FOOD! It's a habit that I love to eat , it's just the way I love to express myself.

If you would like to visit & see what I made : Visit this link here.

My Personal Goals for 2012 ..

Above here , is My Personal Goals for 2012 . Included in this presentation , are the things I am & was most proud of , the things I need to work on , the area's I need to work around & my GOAL for this year . Enjoy the post :)

Show Not Tell ..

Tears of misery ran down her rosy red cheeks. Hunched over, her tears dropped to the ground like rain from the sky. As she blew her nose her sister was looking at her, but her hair hid her face.

Facebook gone wrong ..

A 15 year old girl in America , thought only her friends would see the nasty post she dedicated to her parents on Facebook. Little did she know that she had forgotten to put Max, her dog on the ‘family’ group which she had blocked from the post she had recently published.
As soon as her dad saw the nasty post about him and his wife, he got out his camera and recorded him getting his gun out and shooting his daughters laptop also saying “if you want a laptop now, get if from your own money”.

As soon as she saw the recording, she bursted out in tears. But , at some stage , she knew what she did was wrong , so she apologised to her parents & was alright with what her father had done. She just had to face consequences & move on.

Too often these days , teenagers don’t care about what they post. Even though they think their Facebook settings are on private, it doesn’t actually mean no-one can see it. The ramifications of this problem can be very dangerous and can cause very unhappy teenagers during their lifetime.

Cyber Safety ..

As Kathy opened her laptop screen and logged into Facebook, little did she know that the image Kathy posted a few days earlier had gone live and I’m not trying to say just around her environment, I mean all over, all over the world. Kathy was frustrated. “How do I take this off?” Well the answer was, she couldn’t, NEVER. Once you upload a image online, there’s a 99% chance that you would never be able to take it off again. She was mortified.

HUGE ramifications can happen if you are not beware of your child’s safety at this age. There are many people out there that may not be as friendly as some . There is always a situation once , where a child might put inappropriate videos , pictures or some sort of a kind that will hurt people’s feelings through their lifetime. So , I urge you to take care of your child & BEWARE of the danger that can happen ...

A cold day at the Beach ..

Unexpectedly the great wind blew me away roughly. My teeth chattered. It was a blue day and my body felt numb. Shivering and freezing, I grabbed my beach bag and pulled out my blanket as fast as I could. I wrapped it around me. It was quivering and I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Thanks to this link for letting me reuse this image.

Poem about me!

I am a daughter ,

Always there for a helping hand ,

I am a netball player ,

Hoping one day to be a Silver Fern ,

I am a reader ,

Scary books give me the chills ,

I am a movie lover ,

Action Movies make me jump ,

I am 11 years old ,

The youngest of 2 children .