The Actual Prize Giving

Last night was the actual night of the prize giving and honestly, I don’t remember most of it. All I remember is me having goose bumbs on my arms as I did my dance up on stage. Heaps of awards were given out and everyone finally found out who was chosen to be prefects.

I was excited once we got in the hall but once it all started, I just wanted to go outside. It was so hot and I got really irritated. It was such a long wait for the time for the year 8’s to do their dance and that’s all I really wanted to do, just get it over and done with. I eventually got tired of waiting, like everyone else so I pretty much went to sleep with my eyes open mode.

We saw a lot of performances from the different year groups and saw them get some really good awards for great effort in the arts, sports and academic achievements. I was really happy when my friends Tyla, Gloria, Kaycee and Mele were chosen to be the 2014 prefects. To be honest, I kind of knew that they would be the prefects, don’t know how.

The night was very long but it finally ended and we could all go home to sleep, that’s all I did. I was so exhausted and hot so I was relieved when I could actually walk outside to get some fresh air. Now I am in my class room, thinking about the memories that are left behind from the awesome 2013 Pt England Prize Giving.

Prize Giving Practices

Prize giving is tonight and we have been practicing a lot for our final prize giving as an intermediate student. I am very excited for tonight even though I’m not getting a prize. I would also like to see who gets a prize and see other performances from other year levels.

Like I said, we have been practising a lot and it all started at camp. Ever since then we have been practicing everyday. It kind of sucks but the teachers want it spot on, perfect! We have been very caught up in this that we hardly do anything else. I’m actually glad that the teachers try to make this perfect because I don’t want to look stupid on stage, but then again it is very annoying.

Tonight’s the big night where we show off our dance and singing skills. I will be nervous but excited at the same time. Confused emotions distract me though. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Definately a bad thing for the teachers, I know that much. I can’t wait for tonight now! Feeling: Confused emotions, mainly excited.

Netbook Reflection

Over the past year I have been able to use a netbook to learn and improve certain skills that I may need in the future. Being able to use the internet and a netbook has helped me through projects and research. I can make sure my spelling is correct, look up interesting vocabulary, use cool learning sites such as xtra math, math whizz etc. This all has helped me to progress in my learning.

I have enjoyed using google drive and blogger to publish my writing online for everyone to see and comment on, I especially like reading other stories written by people all over the school. Using netbooks is something that the world should develop because having I.T. skills is very important.

I have learnt independence by checking what I have to do through out the day on the P.E.S school site. My friends can help me aswell by sharing docs and working on them together. My teacher also helps me by using the internet to show me things from other people to learn from.

Having a netbook is also very handy because there is not as much clutter with all the stationary that schools would usually have. I have also leearn things at home such as the bermuda triangle and stuff like that. I love using a netbook and I am happy that I am able to use it next year in college.

#BootCamp

#BootCamp

The day of heading off to camp had finally come and everyone was pretty excited. Once we got on the bus, we stayed up for a little while but then most people fell asleep. I must admit, I did fall asleep but only for a little while.

We spent 5 hours in the bus and once we got off the bus we actually just wanted to go back to sleep. There really should be something called bus lag! We ended up going to our rooms and getting ready for our first activity. To be honest, I expected something fun not a boring, old bush walk. Mr Barks lied by telling everyone that it would be a short bush walk but it turned out to be 3.2 km!

After doing that and killing our legs we went to see a geyser and take a tour around the thermal pools and mud pools. It was pretty cool and really smelly. After about 1-2 hours we went back to camp and had dinner then slept. I had a lot of fun touring around the thermal pools but I was exhausted so I went into my cabin and ended up falling asleep. To be continued …

Children of our Nation Launch

Children of our Nation Launch

Waiting for this event to finally happen is mind-blowing. I can’t wait to see the final product of the movie I helped create. When we arrived in the city right outside the Westpac Building, we immediately saw a red carpet and paparazzi waiting for us to enter and start a new beginning for Intermediate Schools.

We waited for a while outside the building until everything inside was ready for us. Once we did go in we saw two amazing art peices that were in clear view for people to gaze at. We all went up an escalator onto the second floor and then a lift to go all the way up to the ninth floor.

We reached the ninth floor and went inside a confrence room. We sat down and waited for the Governor General of NZ; Jerry Mataparae to arrive so we could finally watch these movies. He came in sat down and a couple of people, plus him said a few words before we could kill the suspense and watch the movies.

The lights dimmed and the movies started to play. I was very excited to see them. The thing I had been waiting for all day was actually happened. The movies aren’t very long so they were over before you knew it. Once the movies had finished, we celebrated by eating lots of nice as food the waited for us outside the conference room. It was really delicious.

The teachers all told us to line up so we could go back to school even though they probably didn’t want to either but they knew we all had to come back. I just want the food back.

3D Printing Machine

3D Printing Machine

The newest edition to our school that Pt Englanders are proud to present, our very own 3D Printing Machine!!! It prints anything we want in a range of sizes and colours. It makes everything 3 dimentional so you can pick up and hold a cube, sphere, animals and many, many more!

I am in a group of about 10 people that learn how to run and operate one of these amazing pieces of machinery. We use a special sort of app to create models of things and send them to the 3D printer! It kind of has a mind of it’s own.

3 of us girls went to see a guy who makes 3D printers. He even uses things that he creates from a 3D printer to make a 3D printer. It is pretty awesome! It is all very complicated yet simple in a way if you get what I mean. Some of us out of the 9-10 girls went to the same guy a few weeks later to make a 3D printer with the help of a few others and brought it back to school for the group to use.

We are now learning to operate the system and keep it working the way it should. We are still learning the basics and how to make models of stuff from thingiverse. We will get the hang of it some day. I guarantee it!

Manaiakalani Film Festival

Manaiakalani Film Festival

On Wednesday the 13th of November the whole school attended a special film festival at Sylvia Park in Mt. Wellington. The school split up into their teams and headed over to Hoyts in a bus.The senior school (which I’m in ofcourse) left just after morning tea eating.

Once we got to Hoyts, we took our seat in the cinema and waited for everything to start. The first movie was room 21’s movie and was presented by Jasmine and Darius. A range of movies was presented by different people from different schools. The movies were about topics that the classes who made them chose. Every movie was cool in a way and had a message. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Unfortunately the movies stopped and we had to come back to school. I wanted to see the rest on the big screen but it’s no big deal. I can’t wait for the next Manaiakalani Film Festival!

Athletics Day!

On friday the 8th of November, us Pt Englanders had an athletics day. I was sort of looking forward to some of the activities but most of them I didn't. I enjoyed being with Mrs Tele'a because she sneaked us lollies, they were yum! Everything was pretty cool!

The activity I enjoyed the most was probably the sack race and tug of war. I particpated a lot and had a lot of fun! The teachers dressed up in their house colours aswell as the kids. They looked pretty awesome! Mrs Tele'a looked like a bumble bee wearing a t-shirt. I had a lot of fun but I can actually wait for the next athletics day. 

Lost

I crash landed with a loud “BANG” in the middle of the forest. My plane was a wreck and I didn’t think I could fix it. The gloomy shadows of the woods surrounded me as I slowly wandered through the large, tall trees. I looked into the sky but it had disappeared and taken all the light with it. I thought to myself for a moment, “I can’t turn back now, I can only go further to find my way out”.

I had nothing but the clothes on my back and the shoes on my feet. I knew that I had to find shelter to keep safe from the deadliest creatures and the cold that I shared the jungle with. I wasn’t safe, not  at all, I hoped and prayed for the best to come but nothing appeared to change. I started to panick, I got anxious not knowing what will happen next. I was also hungry, cold and scared. Hopefully, it gets better.

I woke up in the morning feeling the warmth of sun on my face and heard the slightest sound of falling water. I imediately had a rush of happiness flow through my veins. I followed the sound and it started to grow louder and louder by every step I took. I finally found it, a beautiful waterfall that at this moment meant everything in the world to me.

I leant in to feel the streaming water but fell into a cave behind it. I fell onto the ground but was shocked at the amazing scene. I couldn’t help but stop and stare at everything around me. I searched the cave and found a small gap in the wall and looked inside. I felt for something to open a door for me to enter, then “CLICK”. I was speechless. In this cave there was a treasure chest filled with jewels, gold and treasure. “What’s going on?” I said to myself.

I had my sight set on one golden bracelet so I grabbed it and ran off. If I’m really honest with myself, I expected something bad to happen, but nothing did. Now I really am thankful that nothing bad actually happened to me. It started to get dark so I built me a small shelter to stay under and keep safe from the elements and danger. I was happy though, I had a soft bed of fresh grass, a roof over my head, well sort of.

Even though I was stranded on that island, I thought of the positives. I could have that cave as a house, and a great life. A new life. A better life. Being there could be the solution to my problem. I was finally free.

My Term 4 Mihi

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga matawaka huri noa, i te motu tihei mauri ora
To our pride, to our language, to our visitors around the world. Warm welcoming

Ka rere toku reo ki to tatou nei atua nana te timatanga me te whakamutunga o nga mea katoa        
My language flows to our heavenly father, he is the beginning and the end to everything.

Tuarua me mihi atu kia Kingi Tuheitia Paki hei whakapara i te huarahi o te kingitanga
Secondly, I have to acknowlage Kingi Tuheitia Paki, he followed the foot steps of his ancestors on the Maori king throne.


Hei whakaatahua i oku korero ko te whakapapa o toku whanau, Ko Peter toku papa

To neaten up my words on my geneology of my family, Peter is my dad

no Cambodiaia tata kia Tairane. Ko Marion toku mama no Ngapuhi ia Kaihu me takuira.
and he's from Cambodia near Thailand. Marion is my mum and she's from Northland/Kaihu and Dargerville.

Ko Makayla toku ingoa he uri au no Ngapuhi.  Ko Maungarei toku wahi kainga noho.
Makayla is my name and I'm a descendant from Northland. I live in Mt Wellington.

Ko Riley raua ko Maiya oku teina, tekau ma rua oku tau.
Riley and Maiya are my younger siblings and I am twelve years old.

Noreira, tena koutou, tena koutou, turou hawaiiki
So I've got to wrap it up, so thank you, thank you, may the force be with you.

Auckland vs Syria

Auckland

As the sun beamed through my glass window, I could smell the scent of bacon and eggs sizzling on the stove. I climbed out of my warm, cozy bed and slowly made my way out into the kitchen. I waited for my plate to be served. I dug in immediately, thankful that I had a full stomach and a great life. “My mum is amazing!” I said to myself.

Syria
The gun shot fired with a loud bang. Everything after that moment just broke down into drama and chaos. I jumped out of my bed and froze on the stone cold floor. My family and I tried to find a safe spot to shelter from. Everyone panicked and my family was in a tragic state and certainly not prepared to go through this terrifying disaster.

Auckland

Shouting and cheering went on outside as my friends and I played with the sports gear under the sunshine. I was happy that I had great friends to spend time with. My mum called out “lunch is ready!” and I could see her holding a platter with sandwiches, fruit and other snacks to fill us right up!

Syria

My stomach grumbled as I waited patiently for any food possible while my mother begged for food outside our tent. It was midday but the sun was hiding, leaving us with only the smallest amount of light in the day. I didn’t worry about anything but the condition of my family. I only wished for a better life.

Auckland

The door closed with a slight creak as my mum softly said goodnight. I looked out of my bedroom window at the million twinkling stars that lit the night sky. I covered myself with my warm blankets and waited to get tired enough to fall asleep.

Syria
We piled up to keep ourselves warm, now the only source of heat was body heat. My sleep was very uncomfortable because we could hardly move and the floor was as hard as rock. I was cold, uncomfortable, sad and scared all at the same time. I was worried about what would happen to me in the future.

My AWESOME Holiday

Ok, now’s the part where I tell you that my title doesn’t actually explain the truth about my story. In fact, my holiday was the suckiest (I still wonder if that’s a word?!) holiday in the universe and that is NOT, I’ll spell it, N-O-T an exaggeration! I won’t tell you all of the stupid details because you’ll probably fall asleep!

When the holidays actually started basically all I did was sleep! I woke up really late and once I woke up I had lunch. Does that give you a hint? I pretty much did that through-out the entire holidays. That must be the reason why the holidays went so quick for me!

I did nothing interesting for the rest of the holidays and I’m going to end up tiring MYSELF if I go on anymore! I can’t wait for the next holidays . . . . . . CHRISTMAS!!! Are you excited?

Reflection on Literacy Rotation

This term I had a lot of fun creating, sharing and learning in the literacy rotations. I think it’s cool how I get to work with friends from other classes. I learn how to make movies and develop my I.T. skills while sharing my work with other seniors. It is all very fun and being the second term for doing this rotation, we are all familiar with the activities that we all have to do.

I enjoy working with the teachers too. They always find ways to teach us in the easiest way possible. I like working with everyone around me because they can support me and give me ideas, they can also help me when I’m stuck. This rotation should keep on going for a long time for seniors because it makes learning fun!

My Reflection on my DLO

Last week I created a D.L.O which explained what happened at the site of the twin towers bombing. I enjoyed creating what I did but I think I could do a lot better with the information I had. I created a mini remake with Jasmine to represent what actually happened so you could watch the attacks. It was very fun to make. I had friends helping me with painting and creating the buildings. Everything seemed well, cool!

Planning this D.L.O took up quite a bit of time but I got there in the end. I found researching very interesting because I found out a lot more than I had already known. I think next time I will know the whole entire process so it won’t take as long to create as this one did. I think I could actually do better if I tried harder.

Facts were popping up everywhere and everything started piecing together and became easier to understand once I had all the information I needed. The stuff I found out helped me out a lot. There was probably quite a bit of info that I missed but in the end, I got enough to tell people so that they can learn about this attack.

In the process of making this D.L.O I tried to be as creative as possible for the time given. I thought the more creative it is the better because no-one else really came up with the idea of making a city and then destroying it. I personally think that it is a unique idea and it makes our movie way better! I also enjoyed creating this remake.

The way this D.L.O benefitted me is the challenge and marks I get on my report. I enjoy a challenge and I really hope I get good marks. I tried my best to make my ideas useful. I thought positively about everything and I knew I would finish it off and everything would be alright.

I had to be very cautious about everything I did because everything had a risk to it. My project could ruin in just a small step of the way. It was quite hard to make the city and try not to bust it when i’m supposed to be making it better.

I wanted to make people understand the feeling the people had when the bombing happened but I also wanted them to understand the full story that happened in children of these days eyes. I felt sorry for the people that were involved in the bombing because if they are still living, they probably have the scars to prove it, physicly and mentally. I feel like this is the best I could do for the tasks and the time given.

Term 3 reflection Highlight

Term 3 Reflection Highlight

My highlight for this term would be the kiwisport sessions because they’re just so fun. The games and activities that we do bare very active activities that really make us concentrate. The idea of the kiwisport is cool because everyone learns to work together as a team.

We do many excercises such as dribbling, shooting, octopus and many more that I can’t quite remember the names of! I enjoy the excercises because basketball is just awesome. We all learn rules and signals, moves and dribble types and how the players in professional basketball play. Learning all of new skills is very fun and we become a lot more fit, LIKE ME!!!

The coaches are cool! They always have a fun way to teach us the things that they know how to do. They try their best to teach us in the easiest way possible and always find fun ways to teach us tricks and moves. So you could say that they’re just pure awesome. I enjoy my time with them and I wish we could spend more time with them in our sessions, but we can’t!

I love basketball, it is so fun! I hope our basketball sessions never end! Thanks for letting us have this great activity in our school. I will always look forward to going to our sessions with the amazing coaches.

Student Leader Conference

Today at the student leader conference I learnt that if I was to reach my dream, I needed to try my best and perform at my best to do so. I heard an amazing story from a boy who wanted to be a proffesional soccer player and he did whatever it would take to be a soccer player. He sold chocolate bars for a whole year! and now he lives in brazil playing for a team. Andrew's story really did inspire me to do my best and we even looked at a chart which showed what it takes to get to your dream. Thank-you for letting us have this great day of fun learning!

My Sunday Poem

My Sunday Poem

Yesterday was quite a nice day to get outside and have a play. My family and I hop in the car, it’s great because we don’t have to travel far. Bikes and food are all packed, I’m so excited and I feel so wacked. Our happy mood has taken place and a big smile appears on my face. Speeding up following the wind, my family and I all grin. Nothing can stop me now, faster and faster I pass under clouds. My family all stop and stare at me whizzing past without a care. The day darkens as the air goes cold, I hear myself saying this day was bold. I had a lot of great fun, but now the day is nearly done. Mum and Dad, thanks for today, “I’ll always remember it” I say.

My Little Sister's Birthday

My Little Sister's Birthday

“Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Riley, happy birthday to you!” my dad sang softly. Riley is my sister if you didn’t already know. She wakes up smiling, acting all bubbly and excited. She is finally 6!!!

Unfortunately for her, she had to go to school that day. She didn’’t really want to but she knew she had to, plus come on, what kid wants to go to school on their birthday?! When she got home she told everyone she had a great day and she couldn’t wait for that night. She went on and on about how she would get a nice cake that her uncles boss made.

We finally got in the car and made our way out south to celebrate her birthday with our grandparents. Once we got there we ordered pizza for dinner and had cake afterwards. We had a mean feed and my stomach was full so I didn’t have any room for desert. I was quite excited for cake but I just couldn’t eat it!!!

The sky got quite dark and it was time to go back home so we left and went strait to bed once we got home. My stomach was happy, I was happy and most of all, I couldn’t wait for my next birthday!!!

A Forgotten World

A Forgotten World

A young man named Sean - sailed the seven seas in search of anything he could possibly find that no-one else did before. He had been on water for one entire year and so far found nothing but a mysterious blue rock. He had no idea at what it was and what it did but he thought he’d take it anyway.

It was a stormy night and Sean thought it might get better after a while so he wobbled into his room and tried to get some sleep no matter how bad the storm got. He ended up getting a couple of hours of sleep and was woken by a big THUDDD! in the morning. He was startled and stepped out of his bedroom and onto the deck of the now steady ship and had a look around. His mouth dropped as far as the floor and sighed because of the beautiful place he had found.

Sean took his first step and land and immediately fell to the ground to touch the soft sand of the beach. He went to the trees and looked around for any signs of fruit that wouldn’t kill him in a flash. Although he had no luck he still went further into the jungle with a long knife to protect him and a marker to show him the way back. Of course by drawing on the trees!

He found ponds of water and old huts that looks like they’ve been destroyed by rough water. He finds ragged signs that spells the name of the island but he can’t quite make it out. He carrys on through the thick jungle hanging the sign over his shoulder.

As he reaches the other side of the beach, he looks through a telescope and growls fustratedly at himself because he can see a much bigger island. He takes the time to think and comes up with a conclusion. “I will make my way to that Island!” he says and goes all the way back to his boat and sails again to the other island. It isn’t very long until he reached the next island.

Once Sean got there he realised it was his home town. He was so glad to be home but he was wondering where the island went to because it was now out of sight. Sean eventually met up with his family and had a great feast that did not include any traces of seafood what so ever.

About a month later he was famously known for being the one who found ‘The Forgotten Island’. He gave the sign to scientists and it spelt out the name of which people couldn’t even say. The rock now meant nothing to Sean even though it could unlock another secret world!

My reflection on this weeks Creative Strand

Yellow Hat - The things I enjoyed?

I enjoyed trying a new style of art and learning new things about a culture I’m not familiar with. I also liked being with my friends when I did do this rotation because they helped me improve my art.

Black Hat - Which things didn’t I like?

I have nothing negative to say about this weeks subject. It was totally AWESOME!!! I loved everything and I hope others did too.

Green Hat - What was something interesting about this week?

There was a lot of new things to learn about the patterns and types of art work. The centipede section of the page was very interesting to me because it is a very odd creature that influenced the polynesians.

White Hat - What did I learn?

I learnt how to use different patterns and combine two or more patterns to make my very own. I learnt what some patterns meant and what really gave polynesians an idea in what to draw and use for art.