Friend Poem

This person is kind and generous
She has a great personality
I am lucky to be friends with her
She is gorgeous inside and out
She is fun to hang out with
Her smile brightens up my day
Can you guess who I am talking about?
I am talking about the one and only Shoal Makaata
Thank You Shoal For Being My Friends!!!

2012

2012 was an awesome year. I have experienced many things such as Tamaki College Tech, meeting new friends, entering competitions and sports. My teacher Ms Squires was helpful in class. She is a great role model. This is how the year was.

My goal this year was to finish everything off properly. If I had to rate myself out of 10 I would choose 9/10. The reason for this would be because if I didn't finish my work I would end up getting it done. Also my goal was to do well in sports. Netball was one I focused on the most. Some of the sports I was in this year was softball, touch, netball, cross country and athletics. Anyway, hopefully in prize giving I get the chance to be a prefect and get an academic award.

Next year I am going to be a year 8 and being a year 8 we have more responsibilities. My goal for next year is to be a leader not a follower. Also to do well in my school work and sports. This year was a success and can't wait for next year. Thank you to the year 8. You have been great role models. Also to room 20 for being great friends. Merry Christmas everyone and best of luck in the future!!!

Marshmallow Creature

                                

Owls were hooting and the full moon was glinting on the lake. Zac came out of his tent with a bag of delicious marshmallows. He sat next to the campfire and started toasting them. The dark forest surrounded him. But behind him was another story. A creature that had yellow eyes and was probably 10 feet, stealthily swam through the lake. When it stood up it looked like a frog and a dinosaur put together. He saw Zac toasting marshmallows so it slowly creeped up to him.

A shadow covered him. Zac was curious what was behind so he turned around and to his surprise he saw a sea creature. “AAARRRGGGHHH!!” Zac cried. He didn’t know what to do but stand there with his marshmallow defending him. Nothing happened which made Zac confused. They stood there when suddenly the sea monster ate the marshmallow. Zac was terrified. But the sea monster started doing tricks like a dog. He searched the bag for more marshmallows. He pulled it out and to his surprise more tricks came bursting out of the monster.

The marshmallows were gone except for one. He left the last one on his hand. Suddenly Zac felt slime. He looked up and saw the sea creature. It ate his hand. Luckily the sea monster was only hungry for marshmallows. Zac was really scared from this point. Without marshmallows he knew the sea monster was going to get angry. So he ran for his life. The monster was right behind him though. Then Zac tripped over a twik. The monster was looking at Zac in a scary way. To solve this problem Zac gave the sea creature a pillow. He tricked the sea creature into thinking that the pillow was a marshmallow. Zac knew the sea creature was going to eventually find out so he ran faster than a cheetah. The sea creature on the other hand was roasting his fake marshmallow when sadly it went on fire and turned into ashes.

Year 7 Team Building

The year 8’s weren’t at school which left the year 7’s alone. There was nothing to do but work. Everyone looked bored and wished something exciting was going to happen. When all of a sudden Mrs Nua came and announced that we were doing team building. Some of my friends were wondering why so they decided to ask, “Why are we doing team building Mrs Nua?”
“We are doing team building to find out who are next years prefects are.” Mrs Nua replied. From that moment everyone was in mood of leading a team.

The list of the teams were up on the screen. Our mission was to look for all of the members in our team. When I found my team we sat down and waited for something to happen. The team I was in had 9 people including myself. Shoal, Serena, Dante, Nuima, Marvin, Kendrix, Ahsin, lorenzo and myself. We finally got settled into our teams. Then Mrs Nua instructed us what to do next. Our task was to create a christmas tree. It had to have 4 branches on it and had to be decorated well. Our task was to create a christmas with only the materials in the pile. We had newspaper, coloured paper, sellotape, 2 pairs of scissors and 2 fruit burst. First we struggled because we weren’t cooperating, but we got use to working together and finished with a good looking christmas tree. We ended up using all of our materials and finished with a good product.

We all went to the street and sat in our groups. Our next task was to place our christmas tree on the table and sing a christmas carol. In our groups we thought of a song to sing. We all decided to sing Jingle Bells. After hearing all the songs it was our turn to sing. It was a FAIL. Lucky for us Ahsin made it really entertaining. If I had to choose my favourite performance as well as the christmas tree I would choose, Mary L’s team. After that it was morning tea.

When morning tea was finished we lined up in our teams. When everyone arrived we found out that we were doing relays outside with Mr Barks. The fun thing about this relay was the slingshot part. We had to run to the other side and get the equipment. With the equipment we had to make bullets for the slingshots. Our team found out that I was the best person to do the slingshot and most of the girls were better catching. In the end we won, mostly because we cheated.

Well that was basically it. We had much more activities but these were the highlights for me. I hope at prizegiving I get awarded one of the prefects. I hope we can do this again.

My Toy Invention

The extension group was given a task to make an object and creating it into a toy. Once again we did a random pick. We had to choose a number and behind that number was an object. I choose number 7 and my object was a beautiful necklace. Anyway, it was easy for me to create a toy but I think I can do way better. This is my idea....

So what I have came up with is that you can draw on it. So if you want to remember something like a phone number, you can just write on the necklace and then if you want it off you just wash it with soap.  Anyway, there is a game to it as well. This is how you play......

             

This is the aim of the game. So you find a little object and hide it. Where? I hear you ask, well you can open the big circle beads. Then another person has to guest which one is it in. It is really easy once you get use to it because one circle bead is bigger then the others. That is how you play.

In conclusion I would like to give this toy a name, price, powered and the audience. So, its name is 'A Useful Necklace' created by Vivienne. If you would like to buy one it would be $8.00.  This toy is not runed on power. You don't need batteries. I would recommend this to +10.  I hope you have enjoyed this and hopefully my toy will actually be created in real life.

Where I Am From

Where I am from I touch the flowers that blossom behind my house

Where I am from I hear the sound of voices that bring laughter to my family

Where I am from I see kids playing with each other

Where I am from I smell delicious food that leads me to my house

Where I am from I taste yummy island food

Do you know where I am from?

The Kingdom Of Tonga

Teddy Bear Facts

The extension group was assigned to research a particular toy. We weren't allowed to choose a toy, we had to do a random pick. So we had to pick a number and behind a number was a toy. We all choose our numbers. The toy I got was a bit boring. I wanted something new but after hearing what everyone else got I was really happy with my one. I choose the number 17 and behind number 17 was the one and only "Teddy Bear"

Here are some facts about the teddy bears.

NAME OF TOY::Teddy Bear
PERSON NAMED THE TEDDY BEAR::Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy)
ORIGINS::
DATE::1902
INVENTOR:: Richard Steiff or Theodore Roosevelt
COSTS:: Depends on the size and the look of it
AUDIENCE:: Any Age
PATENT:: No one
BAR::
B- Make the eyes bigger
A- I would add a recorder in it. Press a button and start talking.
R- I would replace nothing

Caleb Chung An Amazing Toy Maker

Caleb Chung is an amazing toy maker. Why? Well, the extension group has researched about him and have found out facts amazed us. When we were asked to research him the first question in my head was who is Caleb Chung? Caleb Chung is a toy inventer. He invented lots of toy from robotic toys all the way to Furby. He has a toy company called Giving Toys. The amazing thing with Caleb is that he didn't go to university.  His life starts like this.

He began his life being a street mime. After that he was a Silver Smith. Then he dropped out of school and worked for Mattel. Then he started to create toys. Furby, foam launcher are just some of the invention.

This man was kind of interesting to research about. He didn't go school which was pretty amazing. Anyway, what I have learnt about Caleb Chung is that even though he didn't finish high school doesn't mean you can.

The Spooky Looking Barn (Narrative)

“I told you that the barn looks cool” Jarna said in excitement.
“Yeah, it’s spooky like you said. How did you find it?” Ashleigh replied as she finished tying her shoe lace. In a distance they couldn’t see the barn properly but by the look of it, it didn’t look like a house that they would live in.
“I have my ways. Anyway lets go and check it out!” as she continued walking.
“Okay” Ashleigh said.
The sky was dull and goosebumps started to appear on Ashleigh’s arms. She rubbed them and walked briskly to catch up to Jarna. “Wait up Jarna!” Ashleigh yelled.
“Hurry up Ashleigh. We’re almost there.”
“Oh man, I have a bad feeling about this” Ashleigh thought to herself.

As Jarna and Ashleigh got closer and closer they could see the house more clearly. The only word to describe it was UGLY!!!Jarna felt an adventure inside this old barn. “Lets go inside!”
“No... What if something happens to us?” Ashleigh said as she tried to stop Jarna
“Nothing is going to happen...... I’m going inside.”
As much as Ashleigh felt like going home she knew that she had to look after her best friend, so she went.

It was pitch black when they went inside the house. They could hear things scattering around everywhere. Jarna was leading the way and Ashleigh was right behind her, trying to avoid stepping on rats. While they were walking something fell. “What was that Jarna?” Ashleigh asked.
“I don’t know” Jarna replied.
“I think the house is falling apart” Ashleigh said while she was trying to find the way out. Ashleigh grabbed Jarna’s hand and tried to find the way out.  More debris came falling down. “Come on Jarna.” Ashleigh said. They tried and tried to find the way out but they couldn’t see anything. They decided to yell out for help. “HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!” They repeatedly said. No one came.

All of a sudden the door started to open. “There’s the entrance Jarna. Lets go!” Ashleigh proclaimed. They ran carefully though. Trying to avoid any debris. Suddenly they heard an old man. “Come this way girls. Quickly” he said. Jarna and Ashleigh followed the mans voice and by no time they made it out of the house safely.

The old man and the girls walked to his truck. “Thank you sir, for saving me and my friend.” Ashleigh said.
“No worry. I have one question for you though,” The old man said.
“What is it?” Jarna asked as she put her seatbelt on.
“Why were you in there anyway?” The old man asked. Jarna and Ashleigh looked at each other. “Well, it is a long story.” Jarna and Ashleigh said together.

The Best Adventure I Have Ever Been On (NARRATIVE)

The wind flipped my hair into my face. Shoal’s teeth were chattering so she got her jumper out of her bag. She put it on and rubbed her arms. “Its soo cold.” she said.
“Tell me about it.”
Me and Shoal were checking if we had everything that we needed. “Check,check and check.” When we finished we entered the forest with our bikes. The wind was blowing so hard we almost fell of them. We decided to hop of our bikes and start to walk. This is going to be the best adventure, I said in my head

As we continued to walk we came up to two paths. “Which one should we take?” I asked.
“This one” Shoal bravely said.
So we continued to walk and as we did something looked very strange. “Are you sure we are going the right way Shoal?”
“Of course we are.... I think”
“Oh my gosh Shoal!!! So are you telling me we are lost?”
“Um..... Yeah, pretty much.”
“How are we gonna get home?”
“I have an idea. I’ll ring my mum and tell her that we are lost. She will definitely came and find us.”
“This better work” I said looking anxiously.
She got her phone out. Then she started to dial her mum’s number. When all of a sudden she put her phone in her pocket. “That was quick.” I sighed with relief.
“Um Vivienne... Theres no reception.” Oh no I said in my head. I looked into Shoals eye and saw tears running out.

I quickly thought of a plan. “Shoal, follow me.” We walked and walked until our legs were too tired to move. Shoal and I sat down and stared in ore. To keep us interested we began to play hand games. Suddenly we heard something. Could it be. Did we found our way after all. I listened closely. “Cars” I yelled out. I heard cars zooming past. We followed the sound and as we did we found a road. Our eyes followed the road and at the end of it was the entrance to the bush walk. We hopped on our bikes and started riding it all the way to the entrance.

“Were saved” I said to Shoal. We were so happy we jumped around. We saw Shoal’s parents ordering something so we ran to them. “How was your bushwalk?” asked Shoal’s mum. “It was the best adventure I have ever been on.” I proclaimed.

A lovely day at the beach.... (Narrative)

The sun was shining on my face and beads of sweat came down my face. “It is sooo hot.” I said to my mum. I looked around and I saw my family having an enjoyable time. My uncle was making the food as well as my cousin and his son, some of the little kids were playing on the playground and the others were swimming. The older kids were playing touch. “ When is the food ready?” asked my cousin. “Soon” replied my uncle. Getting hotter and hotter I decided to go for a swim.

“This goes here.” I instructed my brother.
“No! Can we put this there?” complained my brother. Building a sandcastle was harder than I thought it would be. Everything was going fine until my brother and I saw someone kayaking.  He was paddling along great. Each stroke cut into the glassy water sending showers of spray flying. We started watching wishing it was us.

Suddenly the man got his paddle stuck into the water. He was rocking from side to side. He couldn’t control his kayke.  Before we knew it he fell out of his kayak. We thought he was able to pull himself back into the shore, but we were wrong. My brother and I saw him waving his arms and yelling out HELP, but know one came. “What should we do Jordan?” I asked. “Lets go and get help.” my brother proclaimed.

We sprinted like cheetahs to my mum and told her the bad news. She called my uncle to get the speed boat and help this man. “He is over there” we told our uncle. All of a sudden he went into rescue mode. He zoomed over so fast that waves getting bigger and bigger were left in his wake. We couldn’t see if the man was okay because the boat was blocking him.

Suddenly the boat came back. Everyone was clueless. Was the man okay, did my uncle save him? There he is I said in my head. The man was okay as well as his kayak. “Lucky.” I sighed with relief.

After all that mess we continued with our picnic. “Would you like to stay and have something to eat?” My uncle asked. “Yes please.” he replied. When the picnic was finished my brother and I felt like heroes.

Camp At Willow Park Part 2

..........Other girls were trying to sing and the rest of the girls were quiet and just wanted to get off the bus (ME!).

"Finally." I said to my friends. We arrived at Willow Park. Seeing the playground, trampoline, mini golf, tennis court, gym, church and many more things was great to see again. We went into the dinning room with the boys right behind us. Mr Burt put us into our teams. I was very happy with my team.

Although it didn't have any of my friends in it I knew it would be much easier without them. Mr Burt explained the rules of the place, what we where doing today and introduced us to the owners. When he finished we straight away went into action... 

Finding my bag was a piece of cake but the hardest thing was going up the stairs. The stairs was a mission but luckily for me I had just enough energy to go to my cabin. When I opened the door to my cabin it looked just like my bed room. Anyway, I was the first person in my group to arrive in it which was GREAT!!! Why? Well, have you ever heard off first in, first serve? If you have well that was what happened to me. The bed I choose was a single bed right next to the window. One thing that impressed me was the view. You could see nearly the whole camp. It was awesome! One by one each member of my group came inside and slowly the best place to sleep went away. The last person that came up was Lesley (one of our team leaders). I felt sad for Lesley because she didn't exactly have the best spot. 

Anyway, we had older leaders which were basically ex-Pt Englanders. After that were even older leaders. Not that old though. Then comes the deans. Sort of like the second boss. Our dean was Cara and the boys dean was Jonacany. Obviously the boss of the whole thing was Georgie and Mr Burt. The leaders were split into the 8 groups. We had cool leaders and their names were Shania, Nu'u and Xaviar. They were fun to hang out with. 

When we finished placing our things in our cabin we went downstairs. Being the first group downstairs was a great way to earn MONEY. Not real money of course but monopoly money. I went downstairs and sat down. Slowly each team member of other teams came. "Hey Vivienne, where's your group?" Asked Ashleigh (Friend). "I don't know.... Oh there they are." I replied. "Sit up." Nu'u said. We sat up like a blink of an eye. Suddenly Mr Burt came to our group and said "Is Your Whole Team Here?" We said yes and out came $2. When other teams saw this they wanted Mr Burt to ask there group the big question. 'Is Your Whole Team Here?' Sadly Mr Burt just started to talk. 

"So right now we are going to go to the........"

To Be Continued

First Week Of The Holidays

First week of the holidays was AWESOME. Let me tell you about it.

First of all, I'll tell you what I did. I went to a Christian Camp called Willow park and it was so cool. It was much better then last years camp. Why? Well because last year I got sick and couldn't participate in much of the activities. This year was also a bummer and if you want to find out why keep reading. 

"It was so cool. If only you came." I told my brother who was coming for the first time. He didn't come last year. So I explained more and more about Willow park and as he listen he got more and more eager to go. We finished packing and went to sleep. 

I couldn't sleep and when I did it was like 2:00a.m. I slept for a little while and woke up at 7:00 a.m. I got ready and when I finished getting ready I checked my bag to see if I was missing anything. "Check, check....... and check. I have everything, what about you Jordan?" He didn't answer he was making sure he had everything. It was 8:15 and was the time to go.  We put our bags in the car and drove off. Bye house. See you in 5 days.

"Make sure you look after your little brother, okay." "I will mum. I promise. Bye. See you later." My brother and I walked into the breeze with our bags. "Just put it there." Paulitia (one of our leaders) said. We put our bags down and asked if anyone needed any help.  No one did so we sat down and waited for something to happen. As people walked in with their bags the breeze was almost filled with everyone that was coming. Only two more people were missing. When they came we went on the bus.

"Bye bye Pt England and here we come Willow Park." My friend said. Their was a girls bus and boys bus. Of course we were on the girls bus. Most people would jump to conclusion and think that it was as quiet as a mouse, but trust me it wasn't. Girls were yelling from the front of the bus to the back.  Other girls were trying to sing and the rest of the girls were quiet and just wanted to get off the bus (ME!).

"Finally." I said to my friends.

To Be Continued...

The End Of Term 3

Another fantastic term!!! Learning about the Olympics sports, athletes and countries really hooked me in and made me more eager to find out next terms topic. Saying bye to my friends was really sad. Even though we still have another term to finish off. I can't believe I am saying this but I wish school kept going. Who am I going to eat my lunch with now. Anyway, I gave all my friends a hug especially Kingston who is leaving to Australia to live. It was really sad saying bye to people who you might never see. Bye Kingston, I hope you have an awesome time at Australia. Anyway, here is a sneak peak of what is happening in my holidays.

Next week is going to be so fun as some of us students are having a riverside camp all the way at Willow Park. I've been there last year and had a great time. I can't wait for the new and exciting things that are going to happen there. We will be there from Monday 1st October- Friday 5th October. On Saturday we will be celebrating my cousins birthday. That is where my holiday planning has stopped for now. I can't wait to find out what will be happening on week 2 for the holidays. Happy holidays everyone. Stay safe and have fun!!!

A Special Visitor Visits Pt England

You won’t believe who came to Pt England. He has been on Campbell live, youtube and many more websites on the internet. Guess who? The one and only Joshua Iosefo. I was so excited, not only to see him but to hear him recite his Brown Brother. He inspired me and my friends to stand up and don’t listen to stereotypes.

I was so excited until my mouth opened and unexpectedly said to Ms Squires “Miss, Can I do the thank you speech?” NOOOOOO. Why did I say that. I wanted to take it back but then again I did want to tell Joshua what I thought about his poem. So I decide to do it.

We were waiting patiently for Joshua and his family to walk in. All of a sudden everyone turned around and stayed like that. Why is everyone facing that...... oh, I said in my head. He’s here. They sat down and Mr Burt began to speak....... "Now we are going to give the time for Joshua."

I am brown, brown like............................................ When he finished we all cheered and clapped. After that there were questions we had to get through.

To be continued...

In conclusion I would like to say thank you for Joshua and his parents for coming to our school. I have definitely learnt not to listen to stereotypes and to except a person for who they are. This was a great opportunity for our year 7&8 and wish to have another person like Joshua to come and visit.

Another Mini Olympic But Better

Yesterday was a fantastic day as the whole school had a mini Olympics. Looking around you could see children dressed up in colours representing 16 countries. I was in the beautiful country of Sweden. Our team leader was Samson and I was the co-leader. We played games that were simple such as Handball, Foursquare, Basketball etc. There were also other sports that were really really different. For example Sitting Down Volley. This is how the day started.

It was a sunny day which was a bonus. We were all sitting down waiting for something to happen when all of a sudden Ms Va'afusuaga started to speak. She explained the rules for today, how to earn points and a lot more. After that Ms V sent the juniors to their first activity and left us seniors to find our own way. I didn’t think that was a good idea especially for Sweden. We tried to find our first activity. Me and Samson searched the paper and eventually found our way.

My favourite activity for the day was definitely foursquare against Romania. It was just like handball but with a partner. My partner was Samson and we were the ultimate team. Hitting the ball was a piece of cake but the only challenging thing was when people would skim the ball. I don’t know about Samson but I have gotten better in foursquare. Just to let you know we WON!!!

We played more games but foursquare was my favourite. I really like our Mini Olympic and wish to have another. Thanks to Ms Va'afusuaga, Mr J, all the teachers and the prefects for making this day happen. It was definitely a day to remember.

Social for 2012

Thursday 13th September was a day to remember. Why? Well... Because the year 7&8's had their very own social. I thought that this years social was going to be boring but I was wrong. It ended up being an enjoyable night and this is how it all planed out.

One of the reasons why I liked this years social was because of the theme. ‘New Zealand's Olympic Team’ but an easier way of saying it would be ‘Black And White’. No one really came in black and white which was disappointing.

The highlight for me that evening would be the dance competitions. The first competition was a dougie battle and the winner of that was Nezinli. Second event was a catdaddy comp. Lots of people were good but at it but not as good as Samson, our winner. Next competition that I am going to tell you about was my favourite. AZONTO!!! I danced to the peak of my talent but sadly I didn't win. As I danced with my friends I got tired and sat down. Most of my friends were still dancing. Waving their hands in the air was a sign that everyone was having an awesome time. Thanks to Selena and Mr Tele'a for being the D.J of that night.

So that was how it all planed out. As I said my highlight for the evening was the dance competitions. It was good to see lots of people having fun. Anyway, I would like to thank the Tele'a family for all their help. Also most of the teachers for keeping us safe and last but not least the prefects for making this happen.

Mini Olympics

I ran to the hall like a cheetah, trying to dodge the rain. Sprinting to the hall and dodging the rain was no challenge for me though. Anyway, I saw everyone sitting down. As I walked in I started to scan the room for a sign saying: Mataatua 1. I found it and sat down. I waited and waited for something to happen.

It was Monday 3rd September, the day the year 5-8’s had an awesome sports day. Sadly, they changed the games because of the weather. The teachers decided to play inside games such as Jump Jam with Ms M, Cyber Coach with Mubba, Movie watching with Mr J, some more movie watching with Mrs Tele’a, relays with Ms Vaafusuaga and another relay with Mr Burt.

One of the activities I enjoyed was Movie watching with Mrs Tele’a. In this activity we had the opportunity to relax and watch old manaiakalani movies. At the beginning I felt really excited to see my friends looking young and with a cute voice. Anyway, as I said I was excited but as I watched the movies all of a sudden a movie with ME came on. “No. Please Mrs Tele’a don’t put that movie on” I begged Mrs Tele’a.
“Lets watch Vivienne.” Mrs Tele’a excitedly said. Everyone cheered and I tried to hide.

“Shot Vivienne. That was a pretty cool movie.” My friend said to me. I looked up and it wasn’t that bad. I wished I had had the confidence to watch that movie.

As I said we went around to different rotations and sadly that was our last rotation. Everyone went back into the hall and watched PENN (Pt England News Network). I really enjoyed our Mini Olympics and wish to have another one.

A Wise Man Once Said...

FRIENDSHIP

is hard to find

difficult to leave 

and...

impossible to forget

by G. Randolf

As you can see this quote is about friendship. It is one of my favourite quotes. Why? Well because it is true. If you don't know what a true friend is well keep reading.

A true friend is always there for you, no matter what. A true friend will always stick up for you. A true friend tells you the truth even if its bad.  A true friend takes you for what you are. A true friend is kind, loving and caring. 

Friends are like a four leaf clover. Hard to find, but lucky to have.  I am lucky to have good friends. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post about friends. Here is a picture of me and my friends.

2012 Cross Country

 I love to run cross country. It is fun and challenging. I am always excited to do cross country until I found out something terrible about the track. It is 3k.

The treacherous track was wet and had lots of puddles. I had to be cautious while I was running because the track was unpredictable. How? I hear you ask... Well, first it started off with the muddy field, then a normal path, then puddles, then a bush walk. but this year I found out that the track was 3k. Not good...

Anyway, when I went through the finish line I was exhausted but also happy because I came 3rd. I am so proud of myself because I was determined and I persevered to the end. Next year my goal is to come 2nd or even 1st.

Our Awesome Workshop

Last week on Thursday was a great experience for me. Why? Because the animators Ali and Maka from ‘Bro Town’ came to Pt England school and taught us how to make a zoetrope.  

First of all we got settled in the tusitala room. After that we had a short history lesson. Well not the boring history. The kind of history that was about animations. We learnt a lot of things and if you don’t believe me then read this. Did you know that the first ever animation was made in the year 1934?

Anyway, as I said in my first paragraph we made a zoetrope. What is a zoetrope though? I hear you ask. It is an animation made on paper. It is really cool to see but if your drawing is in the wrong place it turns out wrong. Luckily for me I drew it in the correct space.

My favourite part during the workshop was when we got to try it out. While Ali was spinning I was amazed. All my hard work payed off at the end. I can’t wait until another experience

Check out this movie about our workshop...

Smoking, Not MY Future

Click HERE for the link for this photo

Smoking is bad. The only safe way of smoking is not to start in the first place. If you do start, here are some of the effects it causes. Your health is at risk, it is not good for your appearance and many more. If you don’t believe me, well... Just hear me out.

One reason why I think smoking is bad, is because of the effects that it causes for your health. This happens because cigarettes contain 4000 chemicals. Today, I am only going to name 3 of them. Nicotine, Tar and Carbon Monoxide. You may of heard of them and if you haven’t then the easiest way to describe them is dangerous. Not only do you have a higher chance of dying but your limbs start to fall off. Yeap! You heard me. Your body parts can fall off.

Second reason is your appearance. When you smoke your teeth and nails become yellow and you start to get wrinkles. Another thing you get from smoking is a TERRIBLE breath.

Lots of people start smoking when they are teenagers. Why start so young? Well I think they start because they think it is cool and because their friends are doing. Another reason why they start is probably because they are influenced by their family and friends. This is why you have to be determined and stand up for yourself.

What I told you is just the start about smoking. There are a lot more reasons on why you shouldn’t smoke. Just think about it, do you want your health to be fine when you are an old age, or have a good appearance? I would. That’s why smoking is not my future. It’s your choice, your future!

Click HERE for the link of the photo...

Running Animation

This is an animation that I made in class. It took a while for me to finish it but in the end it turned out right. This is the end result. I hope you like it!
Vivienne Running from Team 4 Pes on Vimeo.

Valerie Adam's Gets a Silver Medal

Valerie Adams, New Zealand’s shot put champion, was unable to hold back her tears as she was being interviewed. Following her final throw, she had the realisation,that her wishes of becoming the World Shot Put Champion for the second time,were now ruined. A woman named Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus had taken Valerie’s place, beating her personal best of 21.34metres. This was a very emotional evening for her. Valerie had worked tirelessly and despite her disappointment, she was proud of her achievements even though she got silver.  

                                Written By Chante, Vivienne and Ashleigh.

Olympics Medal Count

Click HERE to view the Olympics medal count. All together we have 7. At the end of the Olympics I hope we end up with at least 15. Most of them GOLD of course.

The Olympic Creed

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."

This is the Olympic Creed. It is something to motivate the athletes competing in the Olympics. It can remind us that winning is not important. I hope you have learnt something...

Precious McKenzie

In the 1970 Precious Mckenzie was a well known weightlifter in New Zealand but was originally from South Africa.

His childhood was a rough journey for him as well as his family. Sadly when he was 3 years old he had a chest condition that was proclaimed incurable. Luckily for him he survived. Because of this, his mother thought he was the Precious one. That is how he got his name. Anyway during that year his father died because of a crocodile. When his mother found out she started to have drinking problem which lead to giving her children to be fostered. His foster mother wasn't feeding him enough so that stopped him growing when he was 1.45m.

When Precious was 11 a Father saw some natural abilities in him. He took Precious to a gymnastic gym. He trained and trained and started to have a dream. A dream of joining the circus. His ambition of being a circus performer ended because of South Africa’s race law. This lead to weight lifting instead.  

As Precious trained and trained he got better and started to compete in competitions. So in 1958 Precious competed in the Natal Bantamweight weightlifting and won the title. He was not selected for the Empire Games because yet again coloured people were not allowed to compete. Later on he was known as South Africa's best bantamweight weight lifter. He finally got selected in 1963 for the International competition but he boldly refused. He emigrated to England and hoped that there it would be non-discriminatory.

He kept training and competing until he finally was chosen to represent England for the commonwealth games in Jamaica. He got a gold medal for Bantamweight division. After competing in the Olympics he came to New Zealand and started a new life with his family.

Joshua Iosefo "Brown Brother" Poem

Click her to watch the video

Joshua Iosefo did an amazing poem called “Brown Brother”. He is a year 13 prefect at Mt Roskill Grammar School, and all of the prefects had to do a speech in front of the whole school. Everyone did a speech but Joshua decided to do a poem. He delivered his poem so well his friend posted it on Youtube, which brought it to the attention of Campbell Live.

The poem “Brown Brother” is about stereotypes. Stereotypes are a judgement of a person’s race and Joshua’s message in his poem was to not listen to them, and to don’t be afraid to be the change. His message was similar to our school korero, “Go For Gold”. A korero is a message that Mr Burt gives to us every Fridays at assembly. This usually motivates us to do or not to do.

This poem inspires lots of people especially me. My favourite part in his poem was when he said “Brown Brother do not be afraid to be the first.” His message can change many lives and can help them as well. I look up to him not just as a prefect but as a person.

Precious McKenzie The Weight Lifter

With veins bulging as he balances the weight upon his chest, Precious the weight lifter had determination written all over his face.  He was prepared. With a huge heave, he lifted the enormous bar over his head for all to see. This was a great achievement.

By Vivienne and Ashleigh and Chante

Art Alive

A True Friend

As Litia turned back to see me, her brown hair flicked across her face. “Owwww” She said to me. It was easy for everyone to hurt her, not like they would though. I asked if she was o.k and she said yes with a big smile.

Litia was always cheerful. Her smile would brighten up my day and even my friends as well. But when it came to netball that happy face was washed away with an attitude, and because she was vice captain, she knew most of us were counting on her to defend the shooters. As I said off court was a different world with Litia but she was still the same talented girl everyone knows.

Just Can't Wait For School

"Hip hip horay" Some of my friends said to me when the 3:00 o'clock bell went. Why? Well because the school holidays have began. Normally I am really excited that it has started, but for some reason I am sad. For the next two weeks I have to stay in bed, play more netball, shower and eat. BORING!!! Now I have to persuade my mum to take me and my brother to the movies. It's not that hard to trick her though. Anyway, as I said, missing school makes me sad. 


I am a year 7 in room 20. My teacher Ms Squires is so cool. She makes learning fun. Maybe thats why I don't like to miss school. Speaking about school the Olympics is coming up, which makes me think that next terms topic is about it. Anyway, happy holidays everyone!


P.S Just can't wait for school.

PEPA Part 2

PEPA Highlights from SchoolTV on Vimeo.

As I marched like a soldier to the front of the line, I looked up then looked straight down. Lots of kids are sitting down there watching us dance. I was so nervous. I turned around and said inside my head “jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, whoa! Move your body out on the floor, put your troubles aside and...” As I kicked and turned my arms I didn’t get nervous that much.Fist pumping and cheering, that's what the kids were doing. “Whooa” kids said when the break dancers came on the stage. They were doing the pin drop, baby freeze, turtle and lots of other things I don’t know. Our item was finished and we went off stage. “OMG. That was so fun” I said to Mary. Everyone was so excited to do our next performance.  

20 minutes later we were on the wings getting ready. This performance was going to be better then the yeah 3x. Our song came on and once again we marched on. Everyone cheered for us. The song we did the dance to was a remix with Starstrukkk, Till the world ends remix and Labrinth earthquake. My favourite dance was Labrinth earthquake because at the end I did something different then everyone else. I did a one arm handstand.

The performance was a success. No one was hurt. I can’t wait for our next PEPA item. If I had to rate myself from 1-10 I would rate myself a 9. I went hard out and wasn’t shy. To do better in the evening performance I could face the front and look straight. This would help me to get a 10.